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Tucson Weather

Photo Credit: James Randklev and MTCVB

For the most part, Tucson's weather lives up to the desert-valley stereotype of hot 'n' dry. But occasionally it has a few surprises up its short sleeve. Because the sun smiles down on Tucson about 350 days per year, it's no wonder city efforts are underway to harness this natural energy resource. While great for sunbathers and sunscreen vendors, all that sunniness generates hot summers, when average high temperatures are near 100 and lows are in the 70s. Surprisingly, winters push the mercury down to the 60s for highs and the 30s for lows, and may bring infrequent snow flurries.

Ringed by mountain ranges, where skiers benefit from consistent snowfall, Tucson's annual rainfall is only about 11 inches. The mountains also screen out most of the humidity for pleasantly dry (rather than oppressively muggy) heat. Sneaking over the mountaintops in the summer, intense thunderstorms dubbed "monsoons" produce more lightning strikes than anywhere else in the country except Florida. For Tucson's most temperate weather, visit in March, April, October, or November.