Climate and average weather in Payson

In Payson, the summers are hot, dry, and mostly clear and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: late August to mid October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Payson typically varies from 14°F to 89°F, and is rarely below -1°F or above 97°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Payson for warm-weather activities are from mid May to late June and late August to mid October.

Hottest
Jul
89°
Coldest
Jan
14°
Wettest
Apr
2.2 in
Driest
Jul
0.4 in
Rain / yr
17.3 in
81 wet days
Daylight
9.2–14.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
4,652 ft
40.0°N
Clearest
Sep
30% cloud

Payson is city in Utah County, Utah, United States.

Density
870/km²
people per km²
Founded
1850

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

Payson weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late August to mid October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Payson, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.6 months, from June 3 to September 18, with daily high temperatures above 75°F. The hottest month of the year in Payson is July, with an average high of 89°F and low of 60°F.

The cool season lasts 3.4 months, from November 22 to March 3, with daily high temperatures below 43°F. The coldest month of the year in Payson is January, with an average low of 14°F and high of 34°F.

Days typically run about 24°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 30°F) in July.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan3414
Feb3919
Mar4826
Apr5633
May6842
Jun8152
Jul8960
Aug8758
Sep7749
Oct6237
Nov4625
Dec3414

How hot and cold Payson really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Payson feels like about 90°F (around July 16). About 16 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 6°F (around December 27), with roughly 186 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 75 of them bitterly cold — worst in December.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan3434914
Feb39391419
Mar48482226
Apr57562933
May68684042
Jun81815152
Jul89896060
Aug87875858
Sep77774849
Oct62623437
Nov46462025
Dec3434914

Average hourly temperature in Payson

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 89°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 14°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Payson weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan34° / 14°2.09.39.29.50.0
Feb39° / 19°1.78.57.510.40.0
Mar48° / 26°1.99.37.111.71.9
Apr56° / 33°2.210.15.3133.9
May68° / 42°1.98.70.814.26.6
Jun81° / 52°0.73.90.114.87.4
Jul89° / 60°0.42.3014.65.1
Aug87° / 58°0.42.5013.65.7
Sep77° / 49°1.24.60.112.38.0
Oct62° / 37°1.66.51.610.96.0
Nov46° / 25°1.57.55.79.81.5
Dec34° / 14°1.88.18.39.20.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Payson gets about 17.3 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 7.1 months, from around Oct 27 to May 29, peaking in March at about 34% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 1.

April is the wettest month by volume, with 2.2 in over about 10 wet days; July is the driest, with 0.4 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetMar 30 · 34%Jul 1 · 6%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan309
Feb319
Mar309
Apr3310
May289
Jun134
Jul82
Aug93
Sep165
Oct207
Nov258
Dec268

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Payson collects about 17.3 in of rain across 81 wet days — roughly 1.4 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. April is the wettest month with 2.2 in, while July is the driest at just 0.4 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 35% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

00.511.522.53JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2.01.71.92.21.90.70.40.41.21.61.51.8
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan2.099
Feb1.798
Mar1.997
Apr2.2105
May1.991
Jun0.740
Jul0.420
Aug0.430
Sep1.250
Oct1.672
Nov1.586
Dec1.888

Snow in Payson

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Payson averages about 46 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 30 to May 21 — about 7.7 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 9 days of snow and an estimated 16 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 79 in of snow.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 13
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan916
Feb816
Mar710
Apr59
May11
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct22
Nov610
Dec816

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Payson, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around May 27 and lasts for 5.0 months, ending around October 26. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 83% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 27 and lasts for 7.0 months, ending around May 26. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 52% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 3 · 86%Dec 30 · 45%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4951
Feb4852
Mar5149
Apr5050
May6040
Jun7723
Jul8317
Aug8218
Sep8218
Oct7030
Nov5644
Dec4951

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 9, brings about 14 h 48 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.57:535:20
Feb10.47:295:54
Mar11.76:466:27
Apr13.05:556:59
May14.25:177:29
Jun14.85:027:52
Jul14.65:157:50
Aug13.65:437:19
Sep12.36:136:29
Oct10.96:445:40
Nov9.87:205:05
Dec9.27:484:58

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Payson averages about 14 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 9 and 21 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.0 months, from around Jun 1 to Oct 30. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 20 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is January, down near 10 sunny days — about 53% fewer than the August peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 2121 daysJan 69 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan10Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar10Mixed
Apr9Mixed
May11Mixed
Jun18Bright
Jul19Bright
Aug21Bright
Sep19Bright
Oct17Bright
Nov11Mixed
Dec10Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Payson, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul982
Aug991
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Payson is steady company: average speeds sit near 4 mphcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeJun 17 · 4 mphJan 20 · 3 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan3calm
Feb3calm
Mar4calm
Apr4calm
May4calm
Jun4calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep4calm
Oct4calm
Nov3calm
Dec3calm

Best time to visit Payson

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Payson throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around early October, Payson is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Payson for general outdoor tourist activities run from mid May to late June and again from late August to mid October, with a peak score in the third week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 19 · 8.2

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.1poor
Mar1.9poor
Apr4.0fair
May6.6good
Jun7.3good
Jul5.2fair
Aug5.8good
Sep7.9ideal
Oct6.0good
Nov1.6poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Payson for hot-weather activities is from early June to late September, with a peak score in the last week of June.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 26 · 8.5

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Payson, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 89°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 34°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Payson sees daytime highs around 89°F and nights near 60°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Payson by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Payson peaks around July 15 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJul 15UV 11Dec 21UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar6High
Apr6High
May7Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul11Extreme
Aug10Very high
Sep7Very high
Oct5High
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Payson

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb2.50
Mar5.50
Apr6.51
May7.54
Jun8.56
Jul96
Aug85.5
Sep6.53.5
Oct50
Nov10
Dec00

Air quality in Payson by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Payson is worst in September — around 38 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 4.6× the cleanest month (December, 8 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateModerateGoodSep 1535 µg/m³Dec 158 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb10Good
Mar11Good
Apr10Good
May9Good
Jun11Good
Jul9Good
Aug17Moderate
Sep38Poor
Oct9Good
Nov9Good
Dec8Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Payson typically lasts about 200 days, from around April 13 to October 29 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 10 to October 6.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 2710%Apr 1350%May 1090%Oct 690%Oct 2950%Nov 3010%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan431
Feb828
Mar2131
Apr5530
May938
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep990
Oct7526
Nov2230
Dec531

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Payson banks about 2,554 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May160
Jun486
Jul760
Aug708
Sep391
Oct49
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Payson receives about 5.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.3 and 8.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Mar 18 to Sep 24. The brightest month is June, averaging about 8.1 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.3 kWh/m² — roughly 71% less than the June peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 278.3 kWhDec 172.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.6Moderate
Feb3.7Moderate
Mar5.2Bright
Apr6.3Intense
May7.3Intense
Jun8.2Intense
Jul7.9Intense
Aug7.1Intense
Sep5.8Bright
Oct4.1Bright
Nov2.8Moderate
Dec2.3Moderate

Where is Payson?

Payson sits at 40.0°N, 111.7°W, 4,652 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Spanish Fork, 6.2 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 significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 840 ft around an average of 4,646 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 6,168 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,490 ft.

The land around Payson is covered by grassland (45%) and artificial surfaces (27%) within 2 miles, grassland (42%) and trees (22%) within 10 miles, and grassland (51%) and trees (30%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
840 ft
10 miles
6,168 ft
50 miles
7,490 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Spanish Fork 6.2 mi · Springville 11 mi · Provo 14 mi · Orem 17 mi · Pleasant Grove 22 mi · Saratoga Springs 23 mi · American Fork 23 mi · Eagle Mountain 24 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 (40.0444°, -111.7322°, elevation 4,652 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).