Tempe, Arizona climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Tempe's normal year runs from 38°F December nights to 106°F July afternoons, with 8.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 22.1°C, December lows of 3°C, July highs of 41°C, 224 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTempe ASU
- Station IDUSC00028499
- Location33.43°N 111.92°W
- Elevation1,167 ft (356 m)
- From the center3 miles
- Population190,114
On October 14, the normal high in Tempe is 92°F and the normal low 57°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 7%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Tempe.
- Jan 71° 39°
- Feb 74° 41°
- Mar 80° 46°
- Apr 87° 51°
- May 95° 59°
- Jun 104° 67°
- Jul 106° 76°
- Aug 105° 75°
- Sep 101° 69°
- Oct 91° 56°
- Nov 79° 45°
- Dec 69° 38°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Tempe each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 106°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 38°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.30 in), the least in June (0.06 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 71°F | 39°F | 54.5°F | 1.04 | 4 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 74°F | 41°F | 57.3°F | 1.12 | 5 | <1 | 2 | 11 h |
| March | 80°F | 46°F | 63.1°F | 0.96 | 3 | 3 | <1 | 12 h |
| April | 87°F | 51°F | 68.9°F | 0.23 | 1 | 11 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 95°F | 59°F | 77.1°F | 0.18 | 1 | 24 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 104°F | 67°F | 85.3°F | 0.06 | 1 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 106°F | 76°F | 90.9°F | 0.99 | 4 | 31 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| August | 105°F | 75°F | 89.9°F | 1.30 | 5 | 31 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 101°F | 69°F | 84.9°F | 0.71 | 3 | 29 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 91°F | 56°F | 73.6°F | 0.61 | 2 | 19 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 79°F | 45°F | 62.0°F | 0.65 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 69°F | 38°F | 53.5°F | 0.95 | 4 | <1 | 4 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 88°F | 55°F | 71.8°F | 8.80 | 34 | 179 | 10 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°C | 4°C | 12.5°C | 26 mm |
| February | 23°C | 5°C | 14.1°C | 28 mm |
| March | 27°C | 8°C | 17.3°C | 24 mm |
| April | 31°C | 11°C | 20.5°C | 6 mm |
| May | 35°C | 15°C | 25.1°C | 5 mm |
| June | 40°C | 19°C | 29.6°C | 2 mm |
| July | 41°C | 24°C | 32.7°C | 25 mm |
| August | 40°C | 24°C | 32.2°C | 33 mm |
| September | 38°C | 21°C | 29.4°C | 18 mm |
| October | 33°C | 13°C | 23.1°C | 15 mm |
| November | 26°C | 7°C | 16.7°C | 17 mm |
| December | 21°C | 3°C | 11.9°C | 24 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00028499; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Tempe?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in January, February, March, November and December. Of those, November has the fewest days with rain (2).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00028499.
When is the last frost in Tempe?
In Tempe, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 13 in half of years and after March 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 5 in half of years and before November 18 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- February 131 year in 10 after March 9; 9 in 10 after January 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 51 year in 10 before November 18; 9 in 10 before December 24
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 298 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 337 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 16 in half of springs and before December 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tempe in zones 9b to 10a across its 4 ZIP code areas (9b in 85281, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Tempe's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 26°F (15 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Arizona · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00028499; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
What hardiness zone is each Tempe ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Tempe's 4 ZIP code areas run from zone 9b to 10a: 1 in 10a and 3 in 9b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Tempe?
In a normal year in Tempe, 179 days a year reach 90°F (107 of them 100°F or more), 10 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 34 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 179a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 107a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 10a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 34a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 119°F, on June 26, 1970; the lowest is 16°F, on January 5, 1950.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1992, with 19.50 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00028499; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00028499. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Tempe?
Over a year 91% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Tempe, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (97%) and December the cloudiest (84%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 11th (with 9 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.4 |
| February | 84% | 4.3 |
| March | 89% | 5.8 |
| April | 93% | 7.3 |
| May | 95% | 8.2 |
| June | 97% | 8.5 |
| July | 91% | 7.4 |
| August | 91% | 6.8 |
| September | 93% | 6.1 |
| October | 93% | 5.0 |
| November | 89% | 3.8 |
| December | 84% | 3.0 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Tempe need?
A normal year in Tempe brings 1,183 heating degree days, 78% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 3,681 cooling degree days, 4.1 times the median (908). Two months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 8,036 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 325 | 1 |
| February | 220 | 5 |
| March | 105 | 48 |
| April | 28 | 145 |
| May | 3 | 376 |
| June | 0 | 611 |
| July | 0 | 801 |
| August | 0 | 773 |
| September | 0 | 596 |
| October | 10 | 279 |
| November | 135 | 47 |
| December | 357 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 1,183 | 3,681 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00028499. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
How does Tempe's climate compare?
Tempe is warmer than 74 of the other 96 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 33. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 71.8°F is warmer than 97%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Tempe is BWh: hot desert. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Tempe share this climate record?
Guadalupe has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Guadalupe, AZ5,197 people · 5 mi SW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Tempe's climate
What is the coldest month in Tempe?
December, with a normal high of 69°F and a normal low of 38°F. The warmest is July (106°F by day, 76°F at night).
Does it snow in Tempe?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Tempe?
August, with 1.30 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.06 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Tempe in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Tempe in zones 9b to 10a across its 4 ZIP code areas (9b in 85281, the largest). By the same method at Tempe's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 26°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Tempe?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 13; in one year in ten it comes after March 9. Waiting until March 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Tempe in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Phoenix, AZ5 miles from this station, 75.6°F a year
- South Phoenix, AZ9 miles from this station, 71.4°F a year
- Scottsdale, AZ14 miles from this station, 73.2°F a year
- Laveen (3 mi SSE), AZ14 miles from this station, 73.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made