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We're pretty happy with the climate down on our (one day) retirement property in SE (NOT SW Arizona). There happens to be a wunderground.com online weather station very near our lot and these are the average readings from the last 5 years:
Ave High Ave Low
Jan 60 38
Feb 64 40
Mar 68 44
Apr 77 50
May 84 59
June 93 68
July 91 71
Aug 86 68
Sep 85 63
Oct 78 57
Nov 69 51
Dec 60 37
As you can see, it's plenty warm but not the blast furnace heat that one would expect for Southern Arizona. The reason for this is very simple - elevation. Southern Arizona features a general elevation gain as one heads east from the banks of the Colorado River (at the California border) towards the New Mexico border - and the further east you go, the higher the average elevation. Whereas Yuma is at a mere 200 feet (and an oven), Phoenix is at 1,000 feet (and still an oven), Tucson at 2,400 feet (and still toasty), Benson at 3,500 feet (a little warm, but not super hot), and Sierra Vista is at around 4,200-4,500 feet (and just about perfect temperature-wise).
Our land is at 4,200 feet and you can see the resulting climate.
Pretty darned nice in my opinion.
We even get a bit more rain than you might expect for Southern Arizona (16-20 inches is the average). It IS still arid, but not at all bone-dry.
How often do people overlook that altitude equation and make an incorrect generalization about Arizona or other locations in the Southwest, along with the humidity equation.
I would include Kingman, Arizona in NW Arizona as it sits 3750 above altitude, 1600 feet higher than Las Vegas' 2165 foot altitude. But even in Las Vegas, in the senior Anthem community, there are areas out there which rise to 3250 feet which will give you a colder winter and a cooler summer.
Humidity equation: Las Vegas receives about 4 inches a rain a year, Phoenix receives 7-8 inches and Tucson 11 inches or more. Las Vegas is the 2nd driest city in the country. I have lived in both Phoenix and Las Vegas and I prefer it drier with a little more altitude for cooler nights.
Last edited by tijlover; 05-11-2009 at 07:53 PM..
Reason: Add paragraph
How often do people overlook that altitude equation and make an incorrect generalization about Arizona or other locations in the Southwest, along with the humidity equation.
I would include Kingman, Arizona in NW Arizona as it sits 3750 above altitude, 1600 feet higher than Las Vegas' 2165 foot altitude. But even in Las Vegas, in the senior Anthem community, there are areas out there which rise to 3250 feet which will give you a colder winter and a cooler summer.
Humidity equation: Las Vegas receives about 4 inches a rain a year, Phoenix receives 7-8 inches and Tucson 11 inches or more. Las Vegas is the 2nd driest city in the country. I have lived in both Phoenix and Las Vegas and I prefer it drier with a little more altitude for cooler nights.
Yup.
In fact, pretty much anywhere in the SW the main driver of the climate is not the latitude, but rather the elevation - it determines the temperature AND the rainfall. As you mention, Kingman is cooler than Vegas even though it's further south.
We're pretty happy with the climate down on our (one day) retirement property in SE (NOT SW Arizona). There happens to be a wunderground.com online weather station very near our lot and these are the average readings from the last 5 years:
Ave High Ave Low
Jan 60 38
Feb 64 40
Mar 68 44
Apr 77 50
May 84 59
June 93 68
July 91 71
Aug 86 68
Sep 85 63
Oct 78 57
Nov 69 51
Dec 60 37
As you can see, it's plenty warm but not the blast furnace heat that one would expect for Southern Arizona. The reason for this is very simple - elevation. Southern Arizona features a general elevation gain as one heads east from the banks of the Colorado River (at the California border) towards the New Mexico border - and the further east you go, the higher the average elevation. Whereas Yuma is at a mere 200 feet (and an oven), Phoenix is at 1,000 feet (and still an oven), Tucson at 2,400 feet (and still toasty), Benson at 3,500 feet (a little warm, but not super hot), and Sierra Vista is at around 4,200-4,500 feet (and just about perfect temperature-wise).
Our land is at 4,200 feet and you can see the resulting climate.
Pretty darned nice in my opinion.
We even get a bit more rain than you might expect for Southern Arizona (16-20 inches is the average). It IS still arid, but not at all bone-dry.
Ken
Those averages look excellent;
no "real winter" but also "it's not the end of the world..." if your home A/C isn't working for one summer day.
How about U.V. intensity, going up to 4200 feet though?
Is the U.V. noticeably stronger where you are than near sea level, like in Yuma?
I seem to be better able to handle "high heat" than "high U.V."
and altitude often increases U.V.
Don't neglect the windchill factor. With a strong wind in January, that 37 could feel bitterly cold.
I don't know of the wind conditions in SW Arizona, but here in Las Vegas, we can get some monster winds here, sometimes to 30-50MPH, and when it gets down into the 30's here in January, a fur coat or a warm parka is a necessity.
Yes our particular location does tend to get some substantial winds - though for the MOST PART those winds tend to be very low to non-existent overnight and in the early morning hours but then pick up as the day heats up. However your point is valid and I know for a fact that there are times in winter when it can feel pretty cold - particularly on those occasions when we we are well below our norm (which DOES happen from time to time of course). When we purchased the property we were actually out on the land during a record cold snap and the overnight low was 17 with a lot of wind during the day (and with temps that particular day of around 40 or so) and that day felt very cold indeed. Fortunately the cold snap was brief and the temps rose back to normal within a few days.
ColdCanadian -
Yes, we do no doubt have relatively high UV - we're generally very sunny out on the land, and of course have a bit of altitude. Your comment about not being at the "end of the world" is very accurate in our particular case. Our location is 4 minutes from I-10, 10 minutes east to Benson (pop around 5,000 - with basic shopping (including a huge brand new Walmart)) or 40 minutes west to downtown Tucson (pop 1 million -with everything we need).
As mentioned we have pretty substantial breezes - which DOES make us a bit cooler in the winter than the temps would indicate, but on the other hand gives us pretty good natural air conditioning in the summer (keeping in mind what I said about the winds generally picking up as the temperature does).
All in all though, I'm pretty pleased with the climate there. While obviously not quite as perfect as say, Hawaii or the coastal areas of Southern California that are so famous for their climate, SE Arizona has nevertheless perhaps the best climate in the continental US. While we do have what I would have to say is "an occasional short stretch of winter-like weather" in general I think we will find that the seasons will tend blend fall directly into spring most years. SE Arizona is a winter haven for many bird species (and thus also for bird-watchers) and nearby Sierra Vista is often referred to as the "hummingbird capital of America" for that very reason.
Seattle was abmissmal for me... I lived up there for a year and absolutely could not stand it any longer! The cloudy weather literally sticks around for 3-4 weeks in a row sometimes! If thats not enough to depress you, they are UGLY clouds on top of that, not cool looking thunderstorm type clouds... no, dull grey, BLAH looking clouds that half the time don't even do anything! I mean, if its going to be cloudy all the time, atleast rain or do something! But no, 95% of the time, it would just be cloudy and cold. The NW is a brutal place to live, not on the body, but on your mind...
As for perfect weather, I prefer a warm spring, fall, winter, 40-60% humidity, and hot sunny summers with a couple days of thunderstorms, 90-110 degrees and fairly humid (dp 60-75 degrees)
Yes, we do no doubt have relatively high UV - we're generally very sunny out on the land, and of course have a bit of altitude.
Your comment about not being at the "end of the world" is very accurate in our particular case. Our location is 4 minutes from I-10, 10 minutes east to Benson (pop around 5,000 - with basic shopping (including a huge brand new Walmart)) or 40 minutes west to downtown Tucson (pop 1 million -with everything we need).
So it's hard to tell if the U.V. is noticeably "worse" where you are than in Yuma? I'm figuring it might add 1-2 points to the U.V. index.
Interesting to hear what's near by, but what I meant was with those average summer temps, if your A/C dies, it's probably not cause for too much panic, even mid-summer.
With very low humidity, I could see myself using A/C only on the hottest days, as 84-85 F indoors is actually not bad when there isn't much humidity.
(ie. well under 40%, like on days with the dewpoint no higher than 55 F)
So it's hard to tell if the U.V. is noticeably "worse" where you are than in Yuma? I'm figuring it might add 1-2 points to the U.V. index.
Interesting to hear what's near by, but what I meant was with those average summer temps, if your A/C dies, it's probably not cause for too much panic, even mid-summer.
With very low humidity, I could see myself using A/C only on the hottest days, as 84-85 F indoors is actually not bad when there isn't much humidity.
(ie. well under 40%, like on days with the dewpoint no higher than 55 F)
Yeah I see that now that I re-read what you wrote. I have no idea why I interpreted it the way I did. It was pretty bonehead, I have to say.
In any event, I've not been to Yuma so I can't really compare the power of the sun on the land to how it is in Yuma, but I would think the UV would be a bit stronger on the land. To be honest though my biggest concern with UV would be the fact that the latitude is much lower than what it is here where we are in Seattle. That latitude change is likely to have a much larger relative impact to us than the altitude factor. One thing I CAN say about the altitude is that - between that and the ultra-clear air and the lack of nearby city lights (SE Arizona has VERY STRICT light pollution rules), the nighttime sky is AMAZING. The area is literally a star watchers paradise - as attested to be the number of top-tier observatories situated on several of the nearby peaks such as Kitt Peak and Mt Graham.
In regards to A/C, I have to say I'm not really an A/C fan and MUCH prefer to simply open the windows (which is one reason I'm PLEASED to have pretty good breezes out on our land). I'm sure we'll use A/C (or more probably a swamp cooler) once and a while, but in general we plan to rely more on open windows and/or fans. Since the temps are not generally super hot where we are optimistic that will probably be enough most of the time).
Ken
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