Climate

Climate Scenic 2Contents

  • Climate Summary: a narrative summary of the Flagstaff area’s typical weather pattern through the year with updated weather data.
  • The Climate of Flagstaff: Meteorologist Kurt Meyers explains the large-scale forces that influence our climate and how these affect our habitat at ground level. The Arboretum at Flagstaff published this original portrait of the Flagstaff area climate in 1993.
  • Freeze and Frost Summary: a narrative of first and last frosts and freezes, based on data from 1950 to 2013.
  • Temperature Maps: average overnight low temperatures in the Flagstaff area during the growing season, relative to Pulliam Airport. Because the Flagstaff area’s rugged landscape creates many microclimates—small pockets that may be warmer or colder than what is shown on the maps—consider using a simple max-min thermometer to verify the temperatures on these maps for your particular site.
  • Link: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map—the standard reference used by gardeners and growers to determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a given location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones.
  • Humidity Meteograms: charts illustrating the challenge to plants as humidity levels change over the course of a typical day in June, August, and October.
  • Precipitation Maps: include a map of monsoon rains and one of precipitation outside the monsoon season. In addition, there is an animated month-by-month series of maps showing average monthly precipitation.
  • Wet Monsoon Summary: onset and departure of summer rains by neighborhood.
  • Wind Maps: month-by-month maps of wind speed and direction based on data from xx weather stations. For a national view , visit The Wind Map website to see the delicate tracery of wind flowing over the lower 48 United States (mousing over the map shows the wind speed and direction at any given point).
  • Exposure: an explanation of how a site’s angle toward the sun and degree of slope can affect the plants growing there.
  • Methodology: methods used to obtain data used on this website by National Weather Service intern Dan Stewart, MS Climate Science, Northern Arizona University 2014.