Tucson, AZ climate: monthly averages and frost dates
Tucson, AZ has mild winters and very hot summers by this site's scale, with semi-arid annual precipitation. The figures are the 1991–2020 climate normals for NOAA station USW00023160 (TUCSON INTL AP), 5 mi (8 km) in a straight line from the city's center point (US Census).
- Warmest month high
- 101.2°F
- June
- Coldest month mean
- 53.0°F
- December
- Precipitation
- 10.6 in
- per year
- Snowfall
- 0.1 in
- per year
- Median last frost
- February 5
- 32°F, spring
- Median first frost
- December 9
- 32°F, autumn
Monthly averages in Tucson
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Mean °F | Precip. in | Snow in | Days ≥0.01 in | Days ≥90°F | Nights ≤32°F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66.5 | 40.8 | 53.6 | 0.84 | 0.0 | 4.2 | 0.0 | 3.8 |
| February | 69.2 | 43.2 | 56.2 | 0.84 | 0.1 | 4.0 | 0.1 | 1.7 |
| March | 75.8 | 48.0 | 61.9 | 0.56 | 0.0 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 0.3 |
| April | 82.9 | 53.3 | 68.1 | 0.24 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 7.5 | 0.0 |
| May | 91.8 | 61.8 | 76.8 | 0.20 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 21.6 | 0.0 |
| June | 101.2 | 71.1 | 86.1 | 0.23 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 29.2 | 0.0 |
| July | 100.2 | 76.3 | 88.2 | 2.21 | 0.0 | 8.8 | 29.5 | 0.0 |
| August | 98.6 | 75.2 | 86.9 | 1.98 | 0.0 | 8.5 | 29.2 | 0.0 |
| September | 95.1 | 70.4 | 82.8 | 1.32 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 25.7 | 0.0 |
| October | 86.3 | 59.0 | 72.6 | 0.67 | 0.0 | 2.9 | 13.0 | 0.1 |
| November | 75.1 | 47.9 | 61.5 | 0.56 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 1.0 |
| December | 65.5 | 40.5 | 53.0 | 0.96 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 0.0 | 4.8 |
| Year | 84.0 | 57.3 | 70.6 | 10.61 | 0.1 | 47.4 | 157.8 | 11.7 |
How cold is winter in Tucson?
Winters in Tucson are mild by this site's scale (coldest-month mean 45 to under 60°F). The coldest month is December, with a mean temperature of 53.0°F (11.7°C), a normal daily high of 65.5°F (18.6°C) and a normal daily low of 40.5°F (4.7°C).
The station averages 11.7 nights a year at or below 32°F.
How hot is summer in Tucson?
Summers in Tucson are very hot by this site's scale (hottest-month high 100°F or more). June has the highest normal daily high, 101.2°F (38.4°C), with nights averaging 71.1°F (21.7°C).
The high reaches 90°F or more on 157.8 days in a normal year.
The normal daily high itself is 90°F or above in May to September.
What is the wettest month in Tucson?
Tucson gets 10.61 in (269 mm) of precipitation in a normal year, which this site classes as semi-arid (10 to under 20 in a year). The wettest month is July with 2.21 in (56 mm); the driest is May with 0.20 in (5 mm).
Measurable precipitation (0.01 in or more) falls on 47.4 days a year.
Does it snow in Tucson?
Snow is rare in Tucson: the normal annual snowfall is 0.1 in (0 cm).
Which months are mild in Tucson?
3 months in Tucson meet this site's comfort thresholds (normal high 65–85°F, low 45°F or higher, fewer than 10 days with 0.10 in or more of precipitation): March, April and November.
Thresholds and their limits: methodology.
Frost dates and growing season in Tucson
In Tucson the median last spring night at or below 32°F is February 5, and the median first autumn one is December 9 (NOAA P50 dates). NOAA's median length of the freeze-free season is 307 days.
There is still a 10% chance of a 32°F night on or after March 2, and a 10% chance that the first one has come by November 21.
The chance that the last spring 32°F night comes on or after January 4 is 90%.
For a hard freeze (28°F or lower) the median dates are January 11 in spring and December 26 in autumn.
| Chance | Last spring 32°F night on or after | First autumn 32°F night by | Freeze-free season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | March 2 | November 21 | 344 |
| 20% | February 23 | November 26 | 333 |
| 30% | February 17 | November 30 | 323 |
| 40% | February 11 | December 5 | 315 |
| 50% | February 5 | December 9 | 307 |
| 60% | January 31 | December 13 | 300 |
| 70% | January 23 | December 17 | 293 |
| 80% | January 14 | December 24 | 284 |
| 90% | January 4 | January 3 | 274 |
| Threshold | Median last date (spring) | Median first date (autumn or winter) | Median season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | February 28 | November 26 | 271 |
| 32°F | February 5 | December 9 | 307 |
| 28°F | January 11 | December 26 | 351 |
| 24°F | No such night in most years, though a few years have one; no typical season to show | ||
| 20°F | No such night in a typical year (NOAA publishes no dates) | ||
| 16°F | No such night in a typical year (NOAA publishes no dates) | ||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80% | 51% | 11% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 30% | 82% |
Nearby and similar places
Of the places on this site, the closest to Tucson by station distance are Phoenix, AZ at 108 mi (174 km), Albuquerque, NM at 321 mi (516 km) and Las Vegas, NV at 363 mi (585 km).
Among places whose winter, summer and precipitation words are each within one band of Tucson's (winter: mild, summer: very hot, precipitation: semi-arid), the closest monthly temperature and precipitation patterns are Phoenix, AZ, Las Vegas, NV and Albuquerque, NM.
Compared with Phoenix, AZ, Tucson's peak-month normal high is 5.3°F (2.9°C) lower, its coldest-month mean is 2.8°F (1.6°C) lower, and its annual precipitation is 3.39 in more.
| Place | Listed as | Station distance | Coldest mean °F | Warmest high °F | Precip. in/yr | Snow in/yr | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tucson, AZ | this page | – | 53.0 | 101.2 | 10.6 | 0.1 | February 5 |
| Phoenix, AZ | nearby, similar | 108 mi (174 km) | 55.8 | 106.5 | 7.2 | – | rare freeze |
| Albuquerque, NM | nearby, similar | 321 mi (516 km) | 36.9 | 91.2 | 8.8 | 7.9 | April 6 |
| Las Vegas, NV | nearby, similar | 363 mi (585 km) | 48.2 | 104.5 | 4.2 | 0.2 | January 20 |
How nearby and similar places are chosen: methodology.
Source and station
The data for Tucson come from NOAA station TUCSON INTL AP, AZ US (USW00023160) at 32.1314, -110.9553, elevation 2,549 ft (777 m). It lies 5 mi (8 km) in a straight line from the center point of Tucson city, the “internal point” in the US Census 2024 Gazetteer.
Each monthly normal used here rests on at least 27 years of data from 1991–2020 (NOAA's per-field year counts).
NOAA completeness flags on the monthly fields used here:
- S: Standard: meets WMO standards for data availability for 24 or more years.
Cite the data as:
Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anthony; Lawrimore, Jay (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). Station USW00023160 (TUCSON INTL AP, AZ US). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/wck8-er13. Accessed 2026-10-09.
Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anthony; Lawrimore, Jay (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020). Station USW00023160 (TUCSON INTL AP, AZ US). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/4ek7-fk11. Accessed 2026-10-09.
Files used: monthly normals CSV, annual/seasonal normals CSV (retrieved 2026-10-09). The values on this page as JSON: /us/az/tucson/data.json.