Tucson U Of A #1, Arizona climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Tucson U Of A #1's normal year runs from 39°F December nights to 101°F July afternoons, with 10.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 21.3°C, December lows of 4°C, July highs of 38°C, 273 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTucson U Of A #1
- Station IDUSC00028817
- Location32.26°N 111.01°W
- Elevation2,315 ft (706 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Tucson U Of A #1 is 85°F and the normal low 54°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 10%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Tucson U Of A #1.
- Jan 67° 39°
- Feb 71° 42°
- Mar 77° 46°
- Apr 84° 51°
- May 93° 60°
- Jun 102° 69°
- Jul 101° 75°
- Aug 100° 74°
- Sep 96° 69°
- Oct 87° 57°
- Nov 76° 45°
- Dec 67° 39°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Tucson U Of A #1 each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 101°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 39°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.03 in), the least in May (0.19 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67°F | 39°F | 53.2°F | 1.00 | 4 | <1 | 7 | 10 h 10 min |
| February | 71°F | 42°F | 56.1°F | 0.93 | 5 | <1 | 3 | 11 h |
| March | 77°F | 46°F | 61.6°F | 0.64 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 h |
| April | 84°F | 51°F | 67.7°F | 0.33 | 2 | 8 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 93°F | 60°F | 76.1°F | 0.19 | 2 | 24 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 102°F | 69°F | 85.3°F | 0.26 | 2 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| July | 101°F | 75°F | 88.2°F | 1.96 | 7 | 30 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 100°F | 74°F | 86.9°F | 2.03 | 9 | 30 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 96°F | 69°F | 82.6°F | 1.03 | 4 | 28 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 87°F | 57°F | 72.1°F | 0.66 | 3 | 14 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 76°F | 45°F | 60.8°F | 0.62 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 67°F | 39°F | 52.8°F | 1.11 | 5 | <1 | 9 | 10 h |
| Year (annual) | 85°F | 56°F | 70.3°F | 10.76 | 48 | 167 | 21 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°C | 4°C | 11.8°C | 25 mm |
| February | 21°C | 5°C | 13.4°C | 24 mm |
| March | 25°C | 8°C | 16.4°C | 16 mm |
| April | 29°C | 11°C | 19.8°C | 8 mm |
| May | 34°C | 15°C | 24.5°C | 5 mm |
| June | 39°C | 21°C | 29.6°C | 7 mm |
| July | 38°C | 24°C | 31.2°C | 50 mm |
| August | 38°C | 24°C | 30.5°C | 52 mm |
| September | 36°C | 20°C | 28.1°C | 26 mm |
| October | 31°C | 14°C | 22.3°C | 17 mm |
| November | 25°C | 7°C | 16.0°C | 16 mm |
| December | 19°C | 4°C | 11.6°C | 28 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00028817; 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.
Which months are mildest at Tucson U Of A #1?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in January, February, March, April, November and December. Of those, April 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 USC00028817.
When is the last frost at Tucson U Of A #1?
In Tucson U Of A #1, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after February 11 in half of years and after March 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before December 2 in half of years and before November 16 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 111 year in 10 after March 7; 9 in 10 after January 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- December 21 year in 10 before November 16; 9 in 10 before December 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 293 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 336 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after January 18 in half of springs and before December 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tucson U Of A #1 in zone 9b in ZIP code 85705, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 9a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 23°F (19 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Arizona · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00028817; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get at Tucson U Of A #1?
In a normal year in Tucson U Of A #1, 167 days a year reach 90°F (80 of them 100°F or more), 21 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 48 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 167a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 80a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 21a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 48a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1982) is 114°F, on June 27, 1990; the lowest is 19°F, on January 15, 2007.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 23.33 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00028817; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00028817. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Tucson U Of A #1?
Over a year 92% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Tucson U Of A #1, 5.9 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (96%) and December the cloudiest (86%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 87% | 3.6 |
| February | 87% | 4.6 |
| March | 91% | 6.0 |
| April | 94% | 7.4 |
| May | 95% | 8.2 |
| June | 96% | 8.4 |
| July | 88% | 7.2 |
| August | 90% | 6.7 |
| September | 92% | 6.1 |
| October | 94% | 5.1 |
| November | 91% | 3.9 |
| December | 86% | 3.3 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Tucson U Of A #1 record?
A normal year at Tucson U Of A #1 brings 1,363 heating degree days, 75% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 3,328 cooling degree days, 3.7 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 7,536 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 365 | 1 |
| February | 252 | 4 |
| March | 141 | 36 |
| April | 45 | 126 |
| May | 4 | 348 |
| June | 0 | 609 |
| July | 0 | 721 |
| August | 0 | 680 |
| September | 0 | 528 |
| October | 19 | 239 |
| November | 161 | 36 |
| December | 377 | 1 |
| Year (annual) | 1,363 | 3,328 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00028817. 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 Tucson U Of A #1's climate compare?
Tucson U Of A #1 is warmer than 68 of the 97 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 42. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 70.3°F is warmer than 95%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Tucson U Of A #1 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 Tucson U Of A #1 share this climate record?
5 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Flowing Wells, AZ16,989 people · 2 mi N
- Tucson Estates, AZ12,687 people · 9 mi SW
- Tucson Mountains, AZ11,428 people · 5 mi W
- Picture Rocks, AZ9,665 people · 16 mi W
- Kleindale, AZ63 people · 5 mi E
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 Tucson U Of A #1's climate
What is the coldest month at Tucson U Of A #1?
December, with a normal high of 67°F and a normal low of 39°F. The warmest is July (101°F by day, 75°F at night).
Does it snow at Tucson U Of A #1?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month at Tucson U Of A #1?
August, with 2.03 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is May with 0.19 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Tucson U Of A #1 in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Tucson U Of A #1 in zone 9b in ZIP code 85705, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 23°F (19 years, 1991-2020): zone 9a.
How late can frost come at Tucson U Of A #1?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after February 11; in one year in ten it comes after March 7. Waiting until March 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Casas Adobes, AZ6 miles from this station, 69.3°F a year
- Tucson, AZ9 miles from this station, 70.6°F a year
- Catalina, AZ12 miles from this station, 65.6°F a year
- Saguaro National Park, AZ17 miles from this station, 70.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made