What's Arizona like in the winter?

[BIG CATS]

Northern AZ is snowy, and often very frigid. Many mornings I watch the news and itll be 50 in PHX in the morning, and subzero up at the Grand Canyon, and a blizzard in Flagstaff. And no, I wouldn't recommend whitewater rafting in the winter, unless you want instant hypothermia.

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Northern AZ is snowy, and often very frigid. Many mornings I watch the news and itll be 50 in PHX in the morning, and subzero up at the Grand Canyon, and a blizzard in Flagstaff. And no, I wouldn't recommend whitewater rafting in the winter, unless you want instant hypothermia.

At the bottom of the Grand Canyon, on the river, temps are similar to Tucson year round

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

At the bottom of the Grand Canyon, on the river, temps are similar to Tucson year round

Yes, but the water is f-f-f-f-freeeeezing. I know.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

At the bottom of the Grand Canyon, on the river, temps are similar to Tucson year round

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Yes, but the water is f-f-f-f-freeeeezing. I know.

That skinny-dippin's gonna kill you eventually, Cats!

[patryuji]

Around Phoenix in January it can be a bit brisk on some days (especially after the sun sets). I had to leave the flip-flops at home and put on a t-shirt instead of tank top most days. Still wore shorts 50% of the time, but a few rare days I had to wear jeans/slacks. Not quite as warm as I was hoping winter would be, but still pleasant most of the time.

[sarashane]

In Grand Canyon, snow up to your hips and below zero temps are not unusual, but it is beautiful.

[Prickly Pear]

High desert ranks as some of the coldest places in the continental US. There are definitely times I've seen where Flagstaff was the coldest city in the country on one particular day. Not a foreign concept for 7000 feet elevation.

Flagstaff gets 100" of snow a year, one of the snowiest cities in the country. And it always snows in May, too. But it is why Flagstaff is a great ski town.

No humidity to keep anything temperate, and that goes for both high and low desert. While this can be beneficial, it means big temperature extremes not just during the week but even during the day. In the winter its not an unusual concept to have a 40 degree difference between highs and lows (like 70 and 30 which happened in Tucson quite often) or even more. This concept is why Los Angeles is nice by the coast and then suddenly triple digits a few miles in. No different here, except it's already evened out because we are far enough inland.

But winters in high and low desert are almost night and day.