Payson weather in March

In March, Payson sees average daytime highs of 58°F and overnight lows near 34°F, with 2.2 in of precipitation across 6.3 wet days and about 11.7 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 55°F in the first days to 61°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 52% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 12 min at the start of March to 12 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Payson's 7th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Payson's year-round climate.

Daytime high
58°
9th warmest
Overnight low
34°
4th coldest
Precipitation
2.2 in
6.3 wet days
Daylight
11 h 42 min
6:43 AM – 6:27 PM
Cloud cover
41%
7th clearest
Wind
5 mph
4th windiest
Solar energy
5.83 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.0
out of 10

Payson is town in Gila County, Arizona, United States.

Density
306/km²
people per km²
Founded
1973

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 55°F in the first days to 61°F by the end.

A typical March day in Payson reaches about 58°F in the afternoon and slips back to 34°F overnight — a 24°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 46°F and 69°F. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 6°F warmer than February and about 7°F cooler than April.

20°40°60°80°151015202531
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
15432
25532
35532
45532
55632
65633
75633
85733
95733
105733
115834
125834
135834
145934
155935
165935
175935
186035
196035
206035
216035
226036
236036
246036
256036
266036
276036
286136
296136
306137
316137

How March really feels in Payson

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 29 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
29
wind chill below the day's low

The story in March is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Payson weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 9th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan50° / 29°2.66.13.8102.7
Feb53° / 31°2.86.54.210.73.2
Mar58° / 34°2.26.32.811.75.0
Apr65° / 40°1.03.91.412.87.2
May74° / 48°0.63.50.113.88.4
Jun85° / 56°0.31.9014.27.0
Jul87° / 62°2.311.5014.14.8
Aug85° / 62°1.911.3013.35.3
Sep80° / 56°1.36012.27.6
Oct70° / 46°1.44.20.311.18.1
Nov59° / 36°1.64.11.310.25.5
Dec50° / 29°2.46.13.79.82.6

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 52% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 34%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
16040
26139
36139
46337
56337
66436
76436
86535
96634
106634
116634
126634
136733
146733
156733
166733
176733
186733
196733
206634
216634
226634
236634
246634
256634
266733
276733
286832
296832
306931
317030

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitationSnow

Payson gets around 2.2 in of rain and snow over 6.3 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 21% and peaks near 25% on the wettest days, and about 3 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
12515
22515
32414
42413
52313
62312
72212
82211
92111
102110
112110
122110
132110
142110
15219
16209
17209
18209
19209
20209
21208
22208
23208
24208
25208
26198
27198
28198
29187
30187
31187

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of March feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in March

Winds average 5 mph in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 5 mph on the calmest days to 5 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0246810151015202531
Wind speed (mph)Feels
15calm
25calm
35calm
45calm
55calm
65calm
75calm
85calm
95calm
105calm
115calm
125calm
135calm
145calm
155calm
165calm
175calm
185calm
195calm
205calm
215calm
225calm
235calm
245calm
255calm
265calm
275calm
285calm
295calm
305calm
315calm

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 12 min at the start of March to 12 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 66 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 7:03 AM to 6:22 AM, and sunset from 6:14 PM to 6:39 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
111.27:036:14
211.27:016:15
311.37:006:16
411.36:596:17
511.36:586:18
611.46:566:19
711.46:556:20
811.46:546:20
911.56:526:21
1011.56:516:22
1111.66:506:23
1211.66:486:24
1311.66:476:25
1411.76:466:25
1511.76:446:26
1611.76:436:27
1711.86:426:28
1811.86:406:29
1911.86:396:29
2011.96:376:30
2111.96:366:31
2212.06:356:32
2312.06:336:33
2412.06:326:33
2512.16:306:34
2612.16:296:35
2712.16:276:36
2812.26:266:36
2912.26:256:37
3012.26:236:38
3112.36:226:39

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 5.83 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 3.07 kWh/m² to a high of 8.41 kWh/m² in June across the year — March's 5.83 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

0246151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
15.0Bright
25.0Bright
35.1Bright
45.2Bright
55.2Bright
65.3Bright
75.3Bright
85.4Bright
95.5Bright
105.5Bright
115.6Bright
125.6Bright
135.7Bright
145.7Bright
155.8Bright
165.8Bright
175.9Bright
185.9Bright
196.0Bright
206.0Intense
216.1Intense
226.1Intense
236.2Intense
246.2Intense
256.3Intense
266.3Intense
276.4Intense
286.4Intense
296.5Intense
306.5Intense
316.6Intense
Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Payson?

Our two travel scores rate March for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

5.0
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
0.3
Beach & pool
9th-best month of the year

March is a reasonable time to visit Payson for sightseeing.

What to pack for Payson in March

From March's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In March, Payson sees daytime highs around 58°F and nights near 34°F. Worth packing: a warm layer and sun protection. About 6 days see rain.

a warm layersun protection

UV index in Payson in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Payson peaks around June 22 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 18 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJun 22UV 12Dec 18UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan4Moderate
Feb5High
Mar6High
Apr6High
May9Very high
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep9Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Payson in March

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where March falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Payson is worst in June — around 26 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.8× the cleanest month (January, 7 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodModerateGoodJun 1724 µg/m³Jan 147 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb7Good
Mar7Good
Apr13Moderate
May11Good
Jun26Moderate
Jul14Moderate
Aug9Good
Sep12Good
Oct14Moderate
Nov11Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Payson?

Payson sits at 34.2°N, 111.3°W, 4,921 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Fountain Hills, 48 mi away.

Topography around Payson

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Payson.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Payson has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 623 ft around an average of 4,997 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,052 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,136 ft.

The land around Payson is covered by trees (47%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 2 miles, trees (52%) and shrubs (37%) within 10 miles, and trees (40%), shrubs (35%) and grassland (23%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
623 ft
10 miles
4,052 ft
50 miles
7,136 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
March weather nearby: Fountain Hills 48 mi · Sedona 50 mi · Anthem 53 mi · Apache Junction 58 mi · Scottsdale 60 mi · Deer Valley 60 mi · Prescott Valley 62 mi · Mesa 63 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Payson (34.2309°, -111.3251°, elevation 4,921 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).