Climate and average weather in Prescott

In Prescott, the summers are hot, showery, and mostly clear and the winters are cool, snowy, and mostly clear.

Best: early April to early June

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Prescott typically varies from 31°F to 89°F, and is rarely below 24°F or above 97°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while December is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Prescott for warm-weather activities are from early April to early June and mid September to early November.

Hottest
Jul
89°
Coldest
Dec
31°
Wettest
Aug
2.5 in
Driest
Jun
0.2 in
Rain / yr
16.8 in
67 wet days
Daylight
9.7–14.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
5,374 ft
34.5°N
Clearest
Jun
20% cloud

Prescott is City in and county seat of Yavapai County, Arizona, United States.

Density
358/km²
people per km²
Founded
1881

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

Prescott 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 early April to early June.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.9 months, from May 28 to September 24, with daily high temperatures above 80°F. The hottest month of the year in Prescott is July, with an average high of 89°F and low of 66°F.

The cool season lasts 3.4 months, from November 23 to March 5, with daily high temperatures below 58°F. The coldest month of the year in Prescott is December, with an average low of 31°F and high of 52°F.

Days typically run about 23°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 27°F) in June.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5331
Feb5534
Mar6138
Apr6843
May7752
Jun8760
Jul8966
Aug8765
Sep8260
Oct7349
Nov6138
Dec5231

How hot and cold Prescott 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, Prescott feels like about 91°F (around July 1). About 20 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 26°F (around December 25), with roughly 103 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in December.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan53532731
Feb55552934
Mar61613438
Apr68684043
May77775152
Jun87876160
Jul89896666
Aug87876565
Sep82826060
Oct73734849
Nov61613538
Dec52522731

Average hourly temperature in Prescott

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 December, near 31°F.

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

Prescott 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
Jan53° / 31°1.65.21.89.93.4
Feb55° / 34°2.062.210.74.0
Mar61° / 38°1.65.41.611.75.9
Apr68° / 43°0.73.40.612.87.7
May77° / 52°0.53.2013.88.4
Jun87° / 60°0.21.7014.36.1
Jul89° / 66°2.511.2014.14.2
Aug87° / 65°2.512.5013.34.6
Sep82° / 60°1.56.1012.27.1
Oct73° / 49°1.13.80.111.18.3
Nov61° / 38°1.13.30.610.26.2
Dec52° / 31°1.55.12.29.73.2

Chance of rain

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

Prescott gets about 16.8 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 2.6 months, from around Jul 2 to Sep 17, peaking in July at about 43% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jun 7.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 2.5 in over about 13 wet days; June is the driest, with 0.2 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJul 28 · 43%Jun 7 · 4%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan165
Feb216
Mar185
Apr113
May103
Jun72
Jul3411
Aug4013
Sep226
Oct124
Nov113
Dec165

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Prescott collects about 16.8 in of rain across 67 wet days — roughly 1.4 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 2.5 in, while June is the driest at just 0.2 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 42% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

00.511.522.53JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1.62.01.60.70.50.22.52.51.51.11.11.5
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1.652
Feb2.062
Mar1.652
Apr0.731
May0.530
Jun0.220
Jul2.5110
Aug2.5130
Sep1.560
Oct1.140
Nov1.131
Dec1.552

Snow in Prescott

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.

Prescott averages about 9 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 4 to Apr 15 — about 5.4 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 2 days of snow and an estimated 5 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 19 in of snow.

01234JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 25
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan24
Feb25
Mar24
Apr11
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov11
Dec24

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Prescott, 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 April 8 and lasts for 3.0 months, ending around July 7. The clearest month is June, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 89% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 23 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around April 7. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 38% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJun 15 · 91%Feb 18 · 60%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6634
Feb6238
Mar6832
Apr7822
May8020
Jun8911
Jul7129
Aug7624
Sep8614
Oct8317
Nov7624
Dec6733

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 10, brings about 14 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 42 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.97:415:37
Feb10.77:236:06
Mar11.76:486:31
Apr12.86:046:56
May13.85:327:20
Jun14.35:217:39
Jul14.15:327:39
Aug13.35:557:13
Sep12.26:186:31
Oct11.16:415:48
Nov10.27:105:20
Dec9.77:355:17

Sunny days

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

Prescott averages about 18 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 12 and 25 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.1 months, from around Apr 4 to Jul 5. The sunniest month is June, with roughly 23 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is July, down near 14 sunny days — about 39% fewer than the June peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJun 1625 daysJul 2512 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan16Bright
Feb13Mixed
Mar16Bright
Apr19Bright
May20Bright
Jun23Brilliant
Jul14Mixed
Aug14Mixed
Sep20Bright
Oct22Bright
Nov19Bright
Dec17Bright

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 Prescott, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 12% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJun 16 · 100%Jul 29 · 81%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May100000
Jun98100
Jul6918121
Aug5928130
Sep831430
Oct99100
Nov100000
Dec100000

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.

Across the year, average wind speed in Prescott is typically calm, near 5 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.7 months, from around Feb 16 to Jul 8. The windiest month is April, averaging about 6 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jul 9 to Feb 15, with August the calmest month at about 4 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeApr 30 · 6 mphAug 22 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan4calm
Feb5calm
Mar5calm
Apr6calm
May6calm
Jun6calm
Jul5calm
Aug4calm
Sep4calm
Oct4calm
Nov4calm
Dec4calm

Best time to visit Prescott

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late May, Prescott 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 Prescott for general outdoor tourist activities run from early April to early June and again from mid September to early November, with a peak score in the second week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 10 · 8.7

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
Jan3.4poor
Feb4.1fair
Mar5.9good
Apr7.7ideal
May8.3ideal
Jun6.2good
Jul4.2fair
Aug4.6fair
Sep7.1good
Oct8.3ideal
Nov6.2good
Dec3.3poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Prescott for hot-weather activities run from mid May to early July and again from early September to mid October, with a peak score in the second week of June.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJun 8 · 8.9

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 Prescott, 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, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near 52°F), pack a warm layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Prescott sees daytime highs around 89°F and nights near 66°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Prescott 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 Prescott peaks around June 22 at about 11 (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 11Dec 18UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan4Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr7High
May9Very high
Jun12Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep9Very high
Oct6High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Prescott

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 June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 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)
Jan30
Feb4.50
Mar50
Apr6.52.5
May85
Jun96.5
Jul8.56.5
Aug8.56
Sep74.5
Oct5.51.5
Nov40
Dec1.50
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Prescott typically lasts about 313 days, from around January 31 to December 9 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from March 27 to November 9.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonJan 3150%Mar 2790%Nov 990%Dec 950%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan4631
Feb6028
Mar8329
Apr960
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct990
Nov8223
Dec4631

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. Prescott banks about 4,015 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar15
Apr168
May446
Jun714
Jul863
Aug812
Sep628
Oct336
Nov33
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.

Prescott receives about 5.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.0 and 8.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.4 months, from around Mar 16 to Sep 25. The brightest month is June, averaging about 8.4 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 3.1 kWh/m² — roughly 64% less than the June peak.

012345678910JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 138.5 kWhDec 183.0 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.3Moderate
Feb4.3Bright
Mar5.8Bright
Apr7.3Intense
May8.1Intense
Jun8.5Intense
Jul7.5Intense
Aug6.7Intense
Sep6.0Intense
Oct4.9Bright
Nov3.7Moderate
Dec3.1Moderate

Where is Prescott?

Prescott sits at 34.5°N, 112.5°W, 5,374 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Prescott Valley, 9.9 mi away.

Topography around Prescott

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Prescott has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 922 ft around an average of 5,531 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,504 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 7,736 ft.

The land around Prescott is covered by trees (44%) and artificial surfaces (30%) within 2 miles, trees (53%) and grassland (21%) within 10 miles, and shrubs (46%), grassland (30%) and trees (21%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
922 ft
10 miles
3,504 ft
50 miles
7,736 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Prescott Valley 9.9 mi · Sedona 46 mi · Anthem 50 mi · Sun City West 61 mi · Deer Valley 62 mi · Surprise 63 mi · El Mirage 65 mi · Flagstaff 65 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 Prescott (34.54°, -112.4685°, elevation 5,374 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).