Rate the Climate: Payson, Az (snowy, warmest, precipitation, cities)

[Jnvlv247]

Off question, kinda, but how come Payson has the tall pines and Sedona doesn't? I mean, Oak Creek Canyon does but Sedona/Payson sit around the same elevation. Is it the soil?

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by Jnvlv247

Off question, kinda, but how come Payson has the tall pines and Sedona doesn't? I mean, Oak Creek Canyon does but Sedona/Payson sit around the same elevation. Is it the soil?

Actually, Sedona is 800ft lower than Payson (5,000ft for Payson vs 4,200ft for Sedona). Sedona is also in a Banana Belt sitting on the foothills of the Mogollon Rim. There are palm trees in Sedona, while there aren't in Payson. Sedona's average low in January is above freezing, while Payson's is in the 20's; that's a big difference

[Valley Native]

During the hottest time of year, many Phoenicians weary of the heat like to escape to cooler parts of Arizona. Some will go to Payson for a mini vacation (90 miles away), but in reality, it's not much of an escape from the heat. When it's 110 in Phoenix, Payson can easily be in the 90s. It's probably the first "mountain" town NE of the Phoenix area, but at 5,000 feet its's not all that cool or scenic. The best escapes are further north and east along the Mogollon Rim or into the White Mountains where the forests are thicker, temperatures are much cooler, and there is a decent amount of snow in the winter.

[Tall Traveler]

Originally Posted by Jnvlv247

Off question, kinda, but how come Payson has the tall pines and Sedona doesn't? I mean, Oak Creek Canyon does but Sedona/Payson sit around the same elevation. Is it the soil?

Payson is a bit higher and gets more yearly precipitation...it actually gets 25% more precipitation than Prescott which is a slightly higher than Payson and I believe the reason is that Payson gets rain from the more humid winds coming from the east than does Prescott.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

During the hottest time of year, many Phoenicians weary of the heat like to escape to cooler parts of Arizona. Some will go to Payson for a mini vacation (90 miles away), but in reality, it's not much of an escape from the heat. When it's 110 in Phoenix, Payson can easily be in the 90s. It's probably the first "mountain" town NE of the Phoenix area, but at 5,000 feet its's not all that cool or scenic. The best escapes are further north and east along the Mogollon Rim or into the White Mountains where the forests are thicker, temperatures are much cooler, and there is a decent amount of snow in the winter.

90s isn't that bad here, considering dewpoints in the 50s or less. It's not like 90s in Dallas or Houston with dewpoints in the 70s

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

90s isn't that bad here, considering dewpoints in the 50s or less. It's not like 90s in Dallas or Houston with dewpoints in the 70s

Well true, 90s would feel better than 110, but it's still plenty warm. I remember going through Payson once in early July, and the humidity/dew points were low, but it wasn't very comfortable with the blazing sun. Once I was further east and higher up, it was a lot cooler and more scenic. When the summer monsoon is active, the temperatures in Payson can cool off quite nicely with the afternoon thundershowers ... so in that case, higher humidity and rain can make a summer day much more tolerable.

[John Rose]

I gave it a C. It's a strange sort of Mediterranean climate. You can actually find much better Mediterranean climates 10 parallels north of there in Europe. I'd say much of Arizona and the Southwest has a better climate. The diurnal temperature variation is too much for me. I wouldn't want to deal with 90-degree days and then 50-degree nights. The town has colder lows than Boston in every month except January and February.

[Tall Traveler]

Originally Posted by John Rose

I gave it a C. It's a strange sort of Mediterranean climate. You can actually find much better Mediterranean climates 10 parallels north of there in Europe. I'd say much of Arizona and the Southwest has a better climate. The diurnal temperature variation is too much for me. I wouldn't want to deal with 90-degree days and then 50-degree nights. The town has colder lows than Boston in every month except January and February.

"Better" is subjective. I prefer the much greater sun hours in Payson and the night summer cooling preferable to anywhere in Europe by a large margin.

[BMI]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

Actually, Sedona is 800ft lower than Payson (5,000ft for Payson vs 4,200ft for Sedona). Sedona is also in a Banana Belt sitting on the foothills of the Mogollon Rim. There are palm trees in Sedona, while there aren't in Payson. Sedona's average low in January is above freezing, while Payson's is in the 20's; that's a big difference

Agree about Sedona having warmer lows. I only visited Sedona once and I didn’t notice any
palm trees, though they can grow there. I just checked homes currently for sale in Sedona
(some have amazing spectacular views) but only one home featured a couple of windmill palms
(the hardy kind you see in Vancouver or Seattle). I guess the people there aren’t into palms.

Sedona is at 4,350 ft (1330 m) elevation....Payson is at 4,890 ft (1490 ft),
so it it is warmer, also probably where the weather station is has better cold air drainage too.

Here is a comparison between Sedona, Payson, and Prescott,
all data is 1981-2010 climate normals from WRCC
(Payson temps on Wiki are strange, summer highs a bit too high).

Sedona.......vs......Payson.......vs........Presco tt
58/33.......jan.......54/25.......jan.........52/24
61/35.......feb.......56/28.......feb.........55/26
66/38.......mar......62/31.......mar........60/31
74/44.......apr.......70/36.......apr.........67/37
84/52.......may......79/43......may........76/45
93/60.......jun.......88/51.......jun.........86/53
96/66.......jul........91/59.......jul..........89/60
94/66.......aug.......89/59......aug.........86/59
88/60.......sep.......84/52.......sep.........81/51
78/50.......oct........74/41.......oct.........72/40
66/39.......nov.......62/31.......nov.........60/29
57/32.......dec.......53/25.......dec.........51/23

Sedona has a hotter summer....Payson and Prescott are more similar, with Prescott
being a bit cooler (it is at a slightly higher elevation, 5,368 ft (1636 m).

Avg annual precip.....Sedona 18.5”.....Payson 21.2”.......Prescott 17.9”

A couple of posters mentioned Bisbee ....it has probably the best climate in Arizona,
almost as mild in winter as Sedona but with a cooler, more pleasant summer.
As also mentioned, Silver City area of New Mexico is quite good too, particularly Fort Bayard,
unfortunately now practically a ghost town, it was formerly a US Army sanitorium,
chosen because of it’s wonderful “healing” climate.

Bisbee.......vs .......Fort Bayard
56/32.......jan.........55/31
60/34.......feb.........59/34
66/37.......mar........64/37
73/43.......apr.........72/42
81/51.......may........81/51
89/59.......jun.........89/60
87/62.......jul..........88/64
84/61.......aug.........86/63
82/56.......sep.........82/58
74/46.......oct..........73/48
64/37.......nov.........62/37
56/32.......dec.........55/31

Very similar climates....Bisbee with slightly higher average annual precip at 19.1”

[fivenine]

I consider Flagstaff, AZ to be an A climate personally. I like its 4 seasons, pretty good sunshine, and abundant snowfall. Phoenix is probably a D- for me at best due to its relentless heat and no solid winter. That leaves Payson (a solid compromise between the two cities) at a B- for me.