Flagstaff weather must be amazing (pool, car, photos)

[fcorrales80]

14 degrees is just the AVERAGE winter low temperature...it gets much colder in Flagstaff and subzero temperatures are common. My family owns a home in Flagstaff and we go up often, especially in the winter. We've awaken to -16 degrees or worse many times! Being from Phoenix and suddenly immersing oneself in such weather can be "interesting" but I for one love it! It is different and I love the heat in Phoenix all the same. I guess that is one amazing thing about living in Arizona; the different climate zones within the state vary drastically.

[ArizonaBear]

Originally Posted by fcorrales80

14 degrees is just the AVERAGE winter low temperature...it gets much colder in Flagstaff and subzero temperatures are common. My family owns a home in Flagstaff and we go up often, especially in the winter. We've awaken to -16 degrees or worse many times! Being from Phoenix and suddenly immersing oneself in such weather can be "interesting" but I for one love it! It is different and I love the heat in Phoenix all the same. I guess that is one amazing thing about living in Arizona; the different climate zones within the state vary drastically.

And to buttress what you stated:

Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Flagstaff, Arizona, United States of America

OK: so I 'lied'; the average low in January is 15F

[falastudent]

Be aware, the mild spring and summer temps also bring a large population of transients and street alcoholics to town. YouTube - flagnet1's Channel

[singaroo]

Originally Posted by Nameless

We are currently in a heat wave here in the central U.S. It's been above 90 since the 15th, with the last 4-5 days near 100. It's been humid too up until yesterday. Right now at nearly 11am it's already 93 but with just 32% humidity making it feel like 92. The other thing that is exhausting is no temperatures below 70, even for lows!

It must be great considering this is about as hot as you ever get there. I saw that the all-time record is 97. We will be there by noon today. I just stepped outside and said if this is the hottest it ever gets during the summer, I'm in heaven.

My parents are considering Flagstaff for a first retirement location but it will be another 8 years until then. I've got 3 years left of college myself. Flagstaff may be hard to get a job in, but if I can, I'm all there.

Flagstaff is quite a wonderful town. I was born and raised there. The summers are beautiful, I particularly love the monsoon season July and August with all the rain. Fall is beautiful as well. Winters are another story...November-May and part of June it is very cold. January-April there are snowstorms. You have to wake up early in the morning to scrape all the snow off your car if you don't have a garage. My grandparents moved out of Flagstaff as they got older because they would be stuck inside their house. They couldn't go anywhere because they couldn't shovel all the snow from their driveway. Heating is also very expensive in Flag. Although you may not need to use A/C in the summer (2-3 months) You most definitely need to use heat from Sep-May. Therefore you can be looking at gas bills of 3-400 dollars sometimes per month.

All that being said, Flagstaff is my home. I love it dearly. It is a truly beautiful town, a gem of Arizona in my opinion. I wish I could live there now, but unfortunately there are few jobs...especially in my libe of work (education) and it's ridiculously expensive. Just a few thoughts to keep in mind.

[Steve97415]

Originally Posted by ArizonaBear

Remember that Flag winters are cold SOB's; not so much the daytime highs but, at night, we are discussing an average of 14F. Too, frost is a real issue 8-9 months out of the year.

Very true. I lived in Flag for four years. If escaping extreme summer heat is your only climate criterion, Flagstaff may be your idea of heaven. But summers are very short. Spring and fall are just a few weeks long. Winters are very long and very cold. Gardening is very discouraging because the period between the last frost of spring and the first frost of autumn is often less than 100 days.

No place in Arizona has a mild climate: the total degree of oscillation around the yearly mean temperature is huge everywhere in the state. It is just a matter of where you want the thermal center to be. If you like your weather to be chilly most of the time...or you just can't take hot weather no matter what...the uplands will be your best bet. If you prefer temperate winters and balmy evenings, the desert will suit you better. But no matter where you go in the state, you can expect a temperature range of 35-40 degrees above and below the mean temperature.

After 17 years of living in AZ, I moved to southern Oregon. The climate is upland Mediterranean (basically the same as a mid-elevation climate in northern California). The amount of temperature oscillation is just over half of what it is in AZ: 20-25 degrees. Spring and fall are some of the longest seasons of the year, lasting 3-4 months. Winters are rainy but brief. Summers are warm, dry and intensely sunny but cool off at night no matter how hot it gets in the daytime. There isn't a single month of the year when our utility bills hit the triple-digit mark. In retrospect, I wouldn't put Flagstaff anywhere near the top of desirable places to live in the West. The total amount of seasonal temperature swing is just too high, and too much of the year falls in the subfreezing range.

[BillR1]

An interesting bit of Flagstaff weather trivia...
There are VERY few cities in the lower 48 that have more days per year (average) where the temperature hits 32* or below. Flagstaff averages just over 200 days per year of at least some freezing temps.
The top 3 towns are Alamosa, Colorado 227 days, Ely, Nevada 218 days, Flagstaff, Arizona 208 days.
That being said, I'll take the cold ANYTIME to avoid summer heat.

[twiggy]

I was gonna say............Flagg has more snow on the ground for a longer period of time than most New England cities I know, it's in the mountains. But, aw, it is beautiful!

[The_ComeBack_KiD]

Originally Posted by fcorrales80

14 degrees is just the AVERAGE winter low temperature...it gets much colder in Flagstaff and subzero temperatures are common. My family owns a home in Flagstaff and we go up often, especially in the winter. We've awaken to -16 degrees or worse many times! Being from

NO. WAY. POSSIBLE. C'mon man, it gets below zero on occasion, only at night, but -16 is not a regular occurence during any winter in Flag. Flag is a cool little town and I LOOOVVVEE the snow, but flag is not colorado

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by BillR1

An interesting bit of Flagstaff weather trivia...
There are VERY few cities in the lower 48 that have more days per year (average) where the temperature hits 32* or below. Flagstaff averages just over 200 days per year of at least some freezing temps.
The top 3 towns are Alamosa, Colorado 227 days, Ely, Nevada 218 days, Flagstaff, Arizona 208 days.
That being said, I'll take the cold ANYTIME to avoid summer heat.

I don't disagree with the stat, but it needs clarification. All of those cities are subject to huge diurnal temperature variations due to the dry climates and elevation. It can be in the 60's or even 70s in the day and drop below freezing at night along the rim. The temp can jump 20 degrees in the first couple of hours after sunrise. Also, Flagstaff may have cold winters, but it also has SUNNY winters and that makes a huge difference in my tolerance anyway. The brutality of a midwest winter is the dreary grey skies for days (weeks) on end. I would have no problem making it through a Flagstaff winter.

[BillR1]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I don't disagree with the stat, but it needs clarification. All of those cities are subject to huge diurnal temperature variations due to the dry climates and elevation. It can be in the 60's or even 70s in the day and drop below freezing at night along the rim. The temp can jump 20 degrees in the first couple of hours after sunrise. Also, Flagstaff may have cold winters, but it also has SUNNY winters and that makes a huge difference in my tolerance anyway. The brutality of a midwest winter is the dreary grey skies for days (weeks) on end. I would have no problem making it through a Flagstaff winter.

All of your points are absolutely correct. 300+ sunny days per year makes almost any winter tolerable. It's NOTHING like the winters in Michigan. (been there, done that, ain't going back!)