Walnut Canyon National Monument, Arizona climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Walnut Canyon National Monument's normal year runs from 20°F January nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 17.5 inches of precipitation and 52 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.3°C, January lows of −6°C, July highs of 30°C, 446 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWalnut Canyon National Monument
- Station IDUSC00029156
- Location35.17°N 111.51°W
- Elevation6,695 ft (2,041 m)
On October 14, the normal high in Walnut Canyon National Monument is 68°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Walnut Canyon National Monument.
- Jan 45° 20°
- Feb 49° 23°
- Mar 56° 28°
- Apr 62° 34°
- May 71° 40°
- Jun 82° 51°
- Jul 86° 57°
- Aug 82° 55°
- Sep 78° 46°
- Oct 67° 35°
- Nov 55° 28°
- Dec 45° 21°
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 Walnut Canyon National Monument each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 20°F. The most precipitation falls in August (3.39 in), the least in June (0.26 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F | 20°F | 32.5°F | 1.27 | 13.3 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| February | 49°F | 23°F | 35.8°F | 1.73 | 11.0 | 6 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 56°F | 28°F | 42.3°F | 1.50 | 7.9 | 5 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 34°F | 47.8°F | 0.85 | 5.5 | 4 | <1 | 15 | 13 h |
| May | 71°F | 40°F | 55.6°F | 0.59 | 0.3 | 4 | <1 | 5 | 14 h |
| June | 82°F | 51°F | 66.4°F | 0.26 | 0.0 | 2 | 5 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| July | 86°F | 57°F | 71.5°F | 2.55 | 0.0 | 11 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 82°F | 55°F | 68.7°F | 3.39 | 0.0 | 13 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 78°F | 46°F | 62.0°F | 1.61 | 0.0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 67°F | 35°F | 50.9°F | 1.19 | 1.1 | 5 | <1 | 11 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 55°F | 28°F | 41.3°F | 1.37 | 3.5 | 4 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 45°F | 21°F | 32.7°F | 1.23 | 9.8 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 65°F | 37°F | 50.6°F | 17.54 | 52.4 | 72 | 16 | 161 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −6°C | 0.3°C | 32 mm | 34 cm |
| February | 9°C | −5°C | 2.1°C | 44 mm | 28 cm |
| March | 13°C | −2°C | 5.7°C | 38 mm | 20 cm |
| April | 17°C | 1°C | 8.8°C | 22 mm | 14 cm |
| May | 22°C | 5°C | 13.1°C | 15 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 28°C | 10°C | 19.1°C | 7 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 14°C | 21.9°C | 65 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 13°C | 20.4°C | 86 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 8°C | 16.7°C | 41 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 20°C | 1°C | 10.5°C | 30 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 13°C | −2°C | 5.2°C | 35 mm | 9 cm |
| December | 7°C | −6°C | 0.4°C | 31 mm | 25 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00029156; 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 Walnut Canyon National Monument?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, August, September and October. Of those, June 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 USC00029156.
When is the last frost at Walnut Canyon National Monument?
In Walnut Canyon National Monument, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 13 in half of years and after May 30 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 6 in half of years and before September 26 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
- May 131 year in 10 after May 30; 9 in 10 after April 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 61 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 21
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 145 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 172 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 28 in half of springs and before October 18 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Walnut Canyon National Monument in zone 6a in ZIP code 86005, 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 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (15 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 USC00029156; 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 Walnut Canyon National Monument?
In a normal year in Walnut Canyon National Monument, 16 days a year reach 90°F, 161 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 72 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 16a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 161a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 8high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 72a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00029156.
How sunny is it at Walnut Canyon National Monument?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Walnut Canyon National Monument, 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (93%) and July the cloudiest (81%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 83% | 3.2 |
| February | 84% | 4.2 |
| March | 87% | 5.7 |
| April | 88% | 7.0 |
| May | 89% | 7.8 |
| June | 93% | 8.4 |
| July | 81% | 6.9 |
| August | 82% | 6.4 |
| September | 89% | 5.9 |
| October | 89% | 4.8 |
| November | 89% | 3.6 |
| December | 81% | 2.8 |
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 Walnut Canyon National Monument record?
A normal year at Walnut Canyon National Monument brings 5,699 heating degree days, 6% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 481 cooling degree days, 47% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,486 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,008 | 0 |
| February | 819 | 0 |
| March | 705 | 0 |
| April | 516 | 0 |
| May | 303 | 13 |
| June | 60 | 103 |
| July | 4 | 204 |
| August | 13 | 128 |
| September | 122 | 32 |
| October | 436 | 0 |
| November | 711 | 0 |
| December | 1,001 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,699 | 481 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00029156. 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.
Have recent years at Walnut Canyon National Monument been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 51.8°F, 1.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.6°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2023 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 49.2°F | −1.4°F | 16.08 | – |
| 2024 | 51.8°F | +1.2°F | 15.78 | 33.7 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00029156. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Walnut Canyon National Monument's climate compare?
Walnut Canyon National Monument is warmer than 10 of the 97 places with their own NOAA record in Arizona, and wetter than 75. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.6°F is warmer than 43%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Walnut Canyon National Monument is Csb: temperate, dry-summer, warm summer. 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 Walnut Canyon National Monument share this climate record?
2 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.
- Doney Park, AZ5,947 people · 6 mi N
- Mountain View Ranches, AZ1,924 people · 5 mi NE
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 Walnut Canyon National Monument's climate
What is the coldest month at Walnut Canyon National Monument?
January, with a normal high of 45°F and a normal low of 20°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow at Walnut Canyon National Monument?
Yes: 52 inches in a normal year, falling on 18 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (13.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Walnut Canyon National Monument?
August, with 3.39 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.26 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Walnut Canyon National Monument in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Walnut Canyon National Monument in zone 6a in ZIP code 86005, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come at Walnut Canyon National Monument?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 13; in one year in ten it comes after May 30. Waiting until May 30 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Arizona climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Flagstaff, AZ9 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Sunset Crater National Monument, AZ14 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Twin Arrows, AZ14 miles from this station, 55.3°F a year
- Fort Valley, AZ15 miles from this station, 47.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made