Rick's World of Sedona Weather

Winter 2026

Winter - Carries part of December, January, February, and part of March…
🌩️ December Weather Recap – More Record Rain Keeps Falling! 🌧️
What a year it’s been! 2025 officially goes into the books as our wettest year since I began keeping records in 2010.December added another 0.91 inches of rain, putting the final 2025 totals at an impressive 33.15 inches of rain and 19.25 inches of snow.
Earlier in the year, September delivered 2.64 inches, October followed with 2.69 inches (the second-wettest October on record), and November kept the momentum going with 3.72 inches, also the second-wettest November since tracking began.
Sedona is looking lush, vibrant, and refreshed—and best of all, our area remains free of drought conditions. A wonderful gift for the red rocks and desert flora alike. 🌵💧

☀️ Sunshine Stats
Even with an active storm pattern, December delivered 21 sunny days, pushing our 2025 sunshine total to 302 days. Every year we come close—and this year, once again, Sedona achieved Arizona’s legendary 300-days-of-sunshine milestone.

🌡️ Temperature Trends

• Mean Temperature: 47.1º — making this the third warmest December since I began tracking in 2010.
• At the Cottages, we recorded only three early-morning lows below 32º during the entire month—unexpected, but certainly appreciated.
• Despite the rain, daytime highs remained comfortable and were surprisingly warm, especially during the first half of December.
• Evenings kept that cozy winter feel—long pants, sweatshirts, and gloves remained the uniform for early-morning jogs and evening strolls.
• Overnight lows dipped into the 30s, and while December was mild, January is likely to bring more seasonable winter temperatures.

This is an image taken on Shadow Rock on January 13, 2026 at twilight.

Winter 2026

🌦️ January Weather Recap – A Remarkably Mild Mid-Winter Month ☀️
January continued the trend of a much warmer-than-average winter in Sedona. Based on data from my AcuRite weather station, January finished well above historical norms, reinforcing the feeling that winter never fully settled in this year.
While January is typically Sedona’s coldest month, this one leaned noticeably mild, with fewer freezing mornings, no snowfall, and an abundance of sunshine.

🌧️ Precipitation Summary

• Total Rainfall: 1.48 inches 💧
• Days with Precipitation: 6 days
• Snowfall: 0 inches ❄️
• Only 3 Januaries since 2010 have recorded no snowfall — this was one of them.

• Sunny Days: 25 days ☀️
• January delivered abundant sunshine, continuing Sedona’s reputation for bright winter days even during active weather patterns.

• Mean Temperature: 44.8º
• 6º warmer than January last year (38.8º)
• Warmer than Sedona’s historical January mean of 41.9º
• Only 3 Januarys since 2010 have recorded a mean temperature higher than 44.8º — making this one of the warmest on record 📈

• This Year High: 69.7º
• This Year Low: 24.6º
• Last Year High: 70.9º
• Last Year Low: 18.0º

• Average High: 56.2º
• Average Low: 30.7º
• Average Mean: 41.9º

• Only 10 mornings started below freezing this January ❄️
• Last year: 28 freezing starts
• This dramatic reduction in cold mornings played a major role in how mild January felt overall.

• 16 days in the 60s
• 12 days in the 50s
• 3 days in the 40s
• 0 days above 69.9º

Top Image
Dramatic early morning winter sky.

Next Image
The Mittens, Sphinx as well as Ship Rock from our pool area at the Cottages on February 24, 2026.

February 2026

February Weather Recap – A Remarkably Mild Mid-Winter Month!🌩️ ☀️
🌵 February continued the trend of a much warmer-than-average winter in Sedona. Based on data from my AcuRite weather station, like January, February finished well above historical norms, again, reinforcing the feeling that winter never fully settled in this year.
If you add January and February’s days that started below 32º, Sedona had only 14 total days that started below 32º. Last year, (2025), there was a total of 38 days that started below 32º. That says it all about this winter. I showed 1 day of trace snow, but that was practically nothing. Most people may not have even realized that it happened. I actually looked for the signs. I saw a little ice in shady spots. This disappeared quickly.
When there is few freezing mornings, no snowfall, and an abundance of sunshine, it feels more like early spring than winter.
☀️ Sunshine Stats
Sunny Days: 24 days ☀️
February delivered abundant sunshine, continuing Sedona’s reputation for bright winter days even during active weather patterns.
🌡️ Temperature Trends

• Mean Temperature: 49.7º — This is the highest since I started recording in 2010.
• This is warmer that Sedona’s historical February mean of 45.8º.
• 💧 Despite the rain, daytime highs remained comfortable, and surprisingly warm.
• Total Rainfall: 1.40 inches 💧
• Days with Precipitation: 5 days
• Snowfall: 0 inches ❄️

• There are only 6 February months since 2010 that have recorded no snowfall.

• Average High: 60.2º
• Average Low: 33.2º
• Average Mean: 45.8º

• Only 10 mornings started below freezing this January ❄️
• Last year: 28 days started below 32º.
• This dramatic reduction in cold mornings played a major role in how mild January felt overall.

• 16 days in the 60s
• 12 days in the 50s
• 3 days in the 40s
• 0 days above 69.9º

Above Image
March 20, 2026 - First Day of Spring shows the shadows. The early morning sun is still on the south side of the Tennis net as shown by the shadow of the net.

Lower Image is our Japanese Maple with new leaves coming in on March 23rd. Leaves will turn maroon as they mature.

March 2026

March Weather Recap – Warmest March on Record 🔥☀️
March 2026 will go down as the warmest March ever recorded since I began tracking weather in 2010—and by a wide margin.
The mean temperature came in at 62.5º, which is an incredible 13.1º warmer than last year (49.4º). Even more striking, it shattered my previous record of 54.6º set back in 2015. That’s not just a new high—it’s a leap.
This wasn’t just a warm month—it was a season-shifting month.

🌡️ Temperature Trends

• Mean Temperature: 62.5º 🔥 (Warmest March on record)
• Previous Record: 54.6º (2015)
• Last Year (2025): 49.4º
• First 90º Day: March 9th (92.9º)

• Sunny Days: 29 days ☀️
• Days with Precipitation: 2 days
• Total Rainfall: 0.21 inches 💧

• 📈 Record-breaking mean temperature—by a wide margin
• 🔥 Early arrival of 90º heat (March 9th)
• 🌱 Accelerated spring conditions beginning in February
• 🌸 Disrupted blooming cycles in seasonal plants

• We’ve been in a weakening La Niña
• Moving toward ENSO-neutral → possible El Niño later in 2026
• This transition phase is often messy and unstable, not clean

Above Image
April 14, 2026 - Gorgeous weather. The early morning sun has shifted to the north side of the tennis net.

Lower Image is the Easter Lily that my son gifted to his mom last year.

April 2026

🌦️ April Weather Recap
A Cooler Follow-Up to a Record-Breaking March 🌿☀️

After a historic March, April 2026 brought a modest return toward more typical spring conditions—but the effects of that early-season heat were already set in motion.
The mean temperature came in at 60.1º, cooler than March’s record-setting 62.5º, but still running above Sedona’s historical April average of 57.7º. While April didn’t break records, it continued the trend of a warmer-than-normal spring.

🌡️ Temperature Trends

• Mean Temperature: 60.1º
• March Comparison: Down from 62.5º
• Historical Average (April): 57.7º

• High Temperature: 90.2º
• Slightly lower than last April (92.9º)
• Low Temperature: 36.3º
• 6º warmer than last year

• Sunny Days: 23 days ☀️
• Days with Precipitation: 5 days
• Total Rainfall: 1.12 inches 💧

• Lilac bushes did not bloom at all
• Japanese maple trees are struggling with leaf development
• Many flowering trees across the area failed to bloom during both March and April

• 🌡️ Still warmer than average, even after March’s extreme heat
• 🌸 Widespread disruption to flowering and plant cycles
• 🌱 Spring arrived too early—and nature is showing the effects
• 💧 Slight increase in rainfall, but not enough to offset early stress

Above Image
May 10, 2026 - Because our Jasmine was covered during the frost, it is blooming better than ever.
May 22, 2026 - This time of year the sun is more north because of the shift in seasons. This is an east-west shot and the shadows are now on the south side of the tennis net.

May 2026

🌦️ May Weather Recap
Slightly Cooler Than Last Year 🌿☀️

After a historic March, April 2026 brought a modest return toward more typical spring conditions—but the effects of that early-season heat and late winter frost, were already set in motion.
May was pretty typical other than the conditions that I discussed in the proceeding paragraph.
🌡️ Temperature Trends

• Mean Temperature: 69.0º - up from 60.1 from April
• May 2025 Comparison: Cooler in 2026 by .03º
• Historical Average (May): 64.8º

• High Temperature: 103.2º - Slightly cooler by 1.4º than last May
• 13º warmer than last April (90.2º)
• Low Temperature: 37.8º
• 2.3º cooler than last year

• Sunny Days: 28 days ☀️
• Days with Precipitation: 2 days
• Total Rainfall: 1inch 💧

• Lilac bushes did not bloom at all
• Japanese maple trees are struggling with leaf development
• Many flowering trees across the area failed to bloom during both March and April

• 🌡️ Still warmer than average,
• 🌸 Widespread disruption to flowering and plant cycles
• 🌱 Spring arrived too early—and nature continued to show the effects,
• 💧 Slight decrease in rainfall,

Above Image
June 21, 2026 - This is the sun rising on the first day of summer. It is the furthest northeastern position before starting the journey back to the south.

Bottom Image
June 23, 2026 - This is an early progression of the Pocket Fire when only hundreds of acres were affected. As the fire approached July, the area affected moved north and west and reached 17,000 + acres.

June 2026

🌦️ June Weather Recap

A Month of Relentless Heat ☀️🔥
June was remarkably similar to last year, but one statistic immediately caught my attention. Every single day during the month reached at least 90º. Since I began keeping weather records in 2010, this has happened only twice—first in 2024, and now again in 2026.
While June wasn't significantly warmer than last year, it was one of the most consistently warm months I've ever recorded.

🌡️ Temperature Trends
• Mean Temperature: 78.8º — up from 69.0º in May.
• June 2025 Comparison: 0.6º warmer than last June (78.2º).
• Historical Average (June): 77.8º.
🔥 Highs & Lows
• High Temperature: 108.2º ◦ Just 0.3º cooler than last June's high of 108.5º.
• Low Temperature: 51.6º ◦ 0.9º cooler than last year's low.
Although the monthly averages were close to 2025, the consistency of the daytime heat was impressive.

• 30 days reached at least 90º
• 14 days exceeded 100º
• 16 days finished in the 90s

Top Image

The above image was taken from our security camera. It captured a black bear meandering through our back yard. Ironically, we moved into this home back on July 29, 2003. For those 23 years, we have never seen a bear until we captured it on our security camera. Many people seem to think the bear was driven down here from the Pocket Fire. There have been previous sightings in years past. However, I never have seen one in our backyard in 23 years!

Bottom Image

Due to monsoon conditions, the air was full of moisture creating very low clouds. This was taken on July 22, 2026 at 6:45 AM. Thunder Mountain is not visible because it is covered with clouds. It was interesting to see the clouds moving through the red rocks of Coffeepot Rock and Thunder Mountain.

July 2026

🌦️ July Weather Recap

Monsoon Moisture Arrives as Summer Settles In ⛈️☀️
July brought the first real taste of the summer monsoon season to Sedona. Although temperatures remained very warm, increasing moisture and cloud cover helped moderate the relentless heat we experienced in June. Even so, July still finished well above Sedona's historical averages.
The month's biggest story was the arrival of 2.22 inches of rainfall, the highest monthly total of 2026 so far. The welcome moisture brought relief to the landscape and marked a dramatic shift from the drier conditions that had dominated the first half of the year.

🌡️ Temperature Trends
• Mean Temperature: 81.3º — up from 78.8º in June.
• July 2025 Comparison: 1.9º warmer than last July (79.4º).
• Historical Average (July): 78.2º.
- There were 13 days in a row over 100º, from 7/3 to 7/15. Then another 9 in a row, from 7/23 to 7/31.
Of Course that streak is carrying through into August. But we will talk about that next month!
🔥 Highs & Lows
• High Temperature: 110.3º ◦ Slightly higher than last year's high of 110.0º.
• Low Temperature: 52.3º ◦ 2.6º cooler than last year's low of 54.9º.
• Days above 100º: 22 🔥
• Days between 90º and 99º: 6
• Total days above 90º: 28
Although July was warmer overall than last year, the increase in moisture and humidity made the month feel noticeably different from June.

☀️ Sunshine & Precipitation
• Sunny Days: 23 days ☀️
• Days with Precipitation: 6 days
• Total Rainfall: 2.22 inches 💧
July delivered more rainfall than any month so far in 2026 and finally brought the long-awaited arrival of monsoon moisture. Afternoon clouds became more common as the month progressed, and the landscape quickly responded.

🌿 Flora and Seasonal Observations
The lingering effects of spring's unusual warmth continue to be visible throughout the area, but July's moisture has begun to restore some life to the landscape.
We also experienced a few seasonal events that longtime residents have come to expect.

• Remnants of smoke from the Pocket Fire drifted into the area during the first part of July.
• We observed the first appearance of flying ants, a familiar sign that the monsoon season is underway. The ants are strongly attracted to light, so we usually turn off outdoor lighting and keep the windows closed for a few evenings.
• On July 9, we had our first tarantula sighting near our back door. This was especially interesting because they don't usually begin appearing until August.

Top Image

Due to monsoon conditions, the air was full of moisture creating very low clouds. This was taken on August 4 2026 at 5:47 AM. Thunder Mountain has low visibility because of the dust in the air. I originally thought that this was smoke from a fire. Later that day, I found out that the Phoenix basin had a category 5 dust storm and some of that dust made it up to Sedona. It hung around for a couple of days.

Bottom Image

This image was taken the very next day August 5, 2026 at 7:23 PM. It shows that dust was still with us creating an eery glow as the sun was setting. At the time, there was a Thunderstorm brewing which added the dramatic effect.

August 2026

🌦️ August Weather Recap
Warmest August Since My Records
Began in 2010 🔥☀️

August continued what has been an exceptionally warm 2026. The mean temperature reached 81.9º, making this the warmest August I have recorded since I began keeping records in 2010. It was also 1.9º warmer than August 2025 and a substantial 5.8º above Sedona's historical August average of 76.1º.
The heat was persistent throughout the month, with 29 of 31 days reaching 90º or higher and nearly the entire month reaching at least 100º or the 90s.
🌡️ Temperature Trends
• Mean Temperature: 81.9º — up from 81.3º in July. • August 2025 Comparison: 1.9º warmer than last August (80.0º). • Historical Average (August): 76.1º. • Record: Warmest August since my records began in 2010. 🔥
🔥 Highs & Lows
• High Temperature: 111.2º — the hottest temperature recorded so far in 2026. • Low Temperature: 63.5º — 6.5º warmer than last August's low of 57.0º. • Days over 100º: 24 days • Days from 90º–99º: 5 days • Total Days over 90º: 29 days • Only 2 days had highs in the 80ºs.
One of the more remarkable statistics was the warm overnight temperature. August's lowest reading of 63.5º was nearly identical to Sedona's historical average August low of 63.5º—meaning even our coolest temperature of the entire month never fell below the historical average low.
☀️ Sunshine & Precipitation
• Sunny Days: 22 days ☀️ • Days with Precipitation: 6 days ⛈️ • Total Rainfall: 0.92 inches 💧 • 2026 Rainfall through August: 8.53 inches
After July delivered 2.22 inches, our wettest month of 2026 so far, August produced only 0.92 inches. The monsoon brought several opportunities for rain, but rainfall at our location was considerably lighter than July.
🌵 Seasonal Observations
August certainly felt like the heart of summer. The combination of 24 days above 100º, unusually warm overnight temperatures, and limited rainfall kept the landscape under considerable summer heat.
The monsoon season continued, but at least at our location, August did not deliver the amount of moisture we experienced during July.
📌 Rick's Weather Perspective
August 2026 will be remembered for its heat. An average temperature of 81.9º made it the warmest August I've recorded since 2010, while the temperature reached 111.2º, our hottest day of the year so far.
Perhaps just as impressive was the lack of nighttime cooling. The entire month never dropped below 63.5º. After the record-breaking warmth we experienced in March, August adds another significant weather record to an already unusual 2026.
Normally, by 10:00 PM, we open all the windows and enjoy the cooler temps throughout the night. This August most of the nights we had to keep the windows closed because it was too warm or muggy to open them. In the 23 years we lived here, this has been a rare occurrence.

2025

Winter 2025 - (Part of December (2024), January, February, and March)


I am repeating myself…Again…Sedona's weather has been wacky this year. The fall color started late. As we entered into winter our Japanese Maple still has leaves. Usually, the Sedona fall color is very vibrant and can last into December.

La Niña is in full swing in Arizona. We have had a high pressure ridge for many weeks from fall into winter. Even when a cold front moved in it has not lasted long and the temperatures increased quickly. There was no rain or snow at all in December but we had already set a record for precipitation for the year at 26.87 inches of rain and almost 10 inches of snow. Ten inches of snow equates to one inch of rain. This brings our total to 27.87 inches of precipitation.

December weather was very mild. We had one of the warmest average temperature for the month since I have been measuring it for the last 15 years. December was warmer than November! We averaged between 10 and 12 degrees warmer than the average for December. There were twelve days in the 70ºs. This past December (2024) was very pleasant. January 2025 has started the same way.

Above
Coffeepot Rock - February 11

February 2025

Second Warmest February On Record !

As cold as January was, I would not have thought February would have been so warm. The mean temperature in February is 45.8º. However, this February the temp went up to 49.3º. This temp increased almost 11º from January. That is a big bump. The one issue was a lack of rain and snow. We only had .62 inches of rain in January. This is going to have a major impact on our fire season as we move forward.

On a positive note, because we only had two days of rain, there were 25 days of sunshine. Also, there has never been 1 day let alone 3 days of 80º+ weather in February but we did have this in 2025. Our warmest day was 84.1º. This was an increase of 13º from January. What a pleasant surprise.

Above
Coffeepot Rock - March 15, 2025 - (Last days of Winter)

March 2025

March Has First Day Over 90º Recorded!

February was the second warmest on record, so it stands to reason that March could have possibly kept that trend going. What was unexpected was the amount of rain and snow that we got because Sedona didn’t receive much in January and February. There was also a couple of very cold fronts that moved through. Winter, definitely did not want to end!


The mean temperature in March was only one tenth higher than February at 49.4º. But February broke a record. Last year February only hit 43.7º. Because March had a record high of 92.9º, with a couple of days in the 80ºs, this drove up the mean temperature for the month.

Fortunately, we got a lot of rain, notably, 6.23 inches. When you add the 13.75 inches of snow, it was an outstanding month for precipitation. In fact, it was one of the highest recorded months. Sedona, really needed the good soaking!

With all that rain, we only had 22 days of sunshine. But that was a small price to pay to keep our ground saturated with water.

Above
Iris - Coffeepot Cottages - April 16, 2025 - (Spring)


April 2025

99 Days of Sunshine in First 4 Months!

There was a lot of weather in April including 3.5 inches of snow and 2.85 inches of rain to 25 days of sunshine. Precipitation has been high so far this year. All the plants, flowers, and trees, look very healthy in Soldiers Pass. This is so nice to see. Our Japanese maple tree came back strong in April and we are so pleased to see how healthy it is.

The mean temperature for April was 57º which was the same as last year. This is slightly cooler than the normal average in April. I have been documenting these stats since 2010 and only a handful of years have been 57º or lower as a mean temp in April. Overall, April was a very pleasant month. The AC only kicked on for a short time, about a half hour on two separate days.

There were 4 days that dipped below 32º and 4 days that had high temps in the 50ºs or below. I think that getting 3.5 inches of snow demonstrates the power of the cold fronts that came through in spring.

Spring in Sedona is a wonderful time of year to relish all the flowers, birds, and other animals that are scurrying around enjoying this wonderful weather just like us!

Above
Rose Bush - Our Backyard - May16, 2025 - (Spring)


May 2025

May Had Temperature Changes From the 50ºs to the 100ºs!

It is very rare that a particular month can see a range of weather that moves up and down the spectrum from 58.6º to 104.3º in one month. Each category from the fifties through the hundreds had at least one day record. That is 6 category ranges. The biggest range of temperature range was up to 5 categories going back to 2017.

The amount of precipitation was pretty remarkable as well. Our area received 5.64 inches of rain in May. The most rain recorded in May prior to last month was May of 2015. That May had 1.91 inches. May and June are usually our least wettest months of the year. Getting this rain is a real blessing.

As stated in April, we have had plenty of precipitation so far this year. All the plants, flowers, and trees, look very healthy in Soldiers Pass. This is so nice to see. Our Japanese maple tree came back strong in April and we are so pleased to see how healthy it is. We also did some major pruning to keep our trees off our roof for “firewise” mitigation.

The mean temperature for May was 69.3º which was 12º higher than April. It was 3º above last year. We had 12 days over 90º from May 20 through the end of the month for a very significant heat spell. Fortunately, the temps cool down at night so there is no need for air conditioning after 7 PM.

Above
The image above is a mature Yucca that has sprouted a stalk in mid-June in our backyard. Coffeepot Rock is in the background. It didn’t take long to get to this height.


June 2025

Rain! Rain! Rain!

The amount of precipitation was pretty remarkable in May. Mainly because May is a fairly dry month. Our area received 5.64 inches of rain. The most rain recorded in May prior to last month was May of 2015. That May had 1.91 inches. May and June are usually our least wettest months of the year. June showed us another significant amount of precipitation. There was 3.28 inches on 6 different days. As I have stated, getting this rain is a real blessing this time of year.

We did have 28 days of sunshine bringing our total to 153. We are on track for over 300 days of sunshine.

The mean temperature for June was 78.2º, which was 9º higher than May. We had 15 days over 100º with another very significant heat spell. There were a total of 27 days over 90º. This is not unusual for June.

This time of year we open the windows after 9 PM on most days. Once the outside temperature falls below 78º, we open all the windows. It is a very rare day that the temp stays around 80º, before we go to bed. We keep the temp set to 78º.

Above
This was a monsoon downpour that is normal in the months of June, July, and August. This image was shot at 6:15 am on July 15. The heavens literally open up.


July 2025

July Weather Recap – Monsoon Season Begins (Sort of!)

July is typically when our summer Monsoon starts to make its presence known. With dew points climbing above 55º, conditions become ideal for thunderstorms. This year, we did get some lightning and thunder on several days, but actual rainfall was minimal—only 0.56 inches so far this season. While the rain may have been scarce, it did bring some temporary relief from the heat. In fact, we had a couple of surprisingly cool days that didn’t even reach 90º. A refreshing break!
We also enjoyed 28 days of sunshine this month, bringing our annual total up to 181 days. At this rate, we’re on track to exceed 300 days of sunshine by year’s end.
As for temperatures, July had a mean temperature of 79.4º, which is 1.2º warmer than June. We experienced 15 days over 100º, including an intense 8-day heatwave where each day topped 100º. The hottest day of the year so far occurred this month, hitting a sweltering 110º. In total, we had 29 days over 90º, compared to every single day over 90º in July last year. So yes—those two cooler days were a welcome change!
Other seasonal observations:

• A swarm of flying ants showed up shortly after one of our monsoonal bursts. I even taped the front door shut to keep them out! It likely followed a localized downpour (outside our range), prompting them to seek a new nesting site. Thankfully, the swarm lasted only a day, with a few stragglers the next.
• On July 29th, I spotted the first tarantula of the season at our tennis courts. I caught it on video—it was on the move, likely in search of a mate!

Above
During Monsoon, one never knows when we will see rain. This August day, the rain fell before sunrise with the clash of lightning and thunder. This was taken on my morning walk. If the tennis court wasn’t wet, you wouldn’t even know it had rained!

August 2025

🌦️ August Weather Recap – Monsoon in Full Swing 🌞
July may usually mark the start of our summer Monsoon, but this year it barely teased us with just 0.56 inches of rain. August, however, made up for it in a big way—delivering 3.06 inches of much-needed rainfall. The showers were a welcome break from the heat and gave the landscape a refreshing lift.
Despite the storms, sunshine still dominated the month. We soaked up 25 bright days of sun, boosting our annual total to 206 days of sunshine so far. At this pace, we’re on track to surpass the 300-day mark by year’s end—Arizona living at its finest!

🌡️ Temperature Trends

• Mean Temp: 80.0º (a tick warmer than July’s 79.6º)
• 100º+ Days: 15 total
• A grueling 8-day heatwave kicked things off, each day soaring past 100º.
• After a brief 4-day dip into the 90s, another 7 days above 100º piled on.
• 90º+ Days: 29 in total (matching July’s count)

Above
Monsoon changes with every day. This particular morning on September 25th, the sun had already shifted closer more to the south and was almost perpendicular with the tennis court. The orange glow looked phenomenal against the puffy white clouds that would turn into major thunderstorms by the day’s end. The silhouette on the red rocks was dramatic.

September 2025

🌦️ September Weather Recap – Monsoon Keeps the Party Going 🌞
Just when we thought monsoon season would pack up and leave in August, September said, “Not so fast!” The storms kept rolling through, treating us to classic Arizona afternoons—blue skies by day, thunder and lightning shows by evening. 🌩️ We collected 2.64 inches of rain, just a touch shy of August’s total, making this the 4th wettest September since 2010. And yes—we’re definitely celebrating every drop!
☀️ But don’t worry, sunshine fans—September still delivered 25 sparkling days of sun, pushing our 2025 tally to 231 days of sunshine. With only 69 more to hit the legendary 300-day sunshine mark, we’re on track for another year of Arizona living at its finest.

🌡️ Temperature Trends

• Mean Temp: 70.0º — a full 10º cooler than August and 7º cooler than last September.
• 90º+ Days: 15 (September 25 might have been the final hot flash of 2025… but Arizona likes surprises 👀).
• Cooler evenings meant wardrobe shifts—think long pants and sweatshirts for those crisp dawn jogs. Temps dipped into the 60s, 50s, and even the high 40s, a refreshing preview of fall.

October 2025

🌦️ October Weather Recap
Record Rain Keeps Falling! 🌩️

What a year it’s been! 🌧️ 2025 officially became our wettest year since record-keeping began in 2010—and we still have two months left. September gave us 2.64 inches of rain, and October kept the streak alive with 2.69 inches, making it the second-wettest October since 2010 (only 2010 itself tops it at 3.44 inches).
With 28.52 inches of rain so far, Sedona is looking lush and vibrant. Even better—our area is currently free of any drought conditions. What a gift for the red rocks and desert flora alike! 🌵💧
☀️ Of course, the sunshine didn’t take the month off. October still blessed us with 27 bright, sunny days, boosting our 2025 total to 258 days of sunshine. That leaves just 61 more to reach Arizona’s legendary 300-day-of-sunshine mark—and we’re well on our way!

🌡️ Temperature Trends

• Mean Temperature: 60.9º — a cool-down of 10º from September and 5º from October 2024.
• Despite the rain, daytime highs stayed pleasantly warm, often above average.
• Evenings brought that cozy fall shift—long pants and sweatshirts became the uniform for early-morning jogs and evening strolls.
• Overnight lows dipped into the low 40s, but never into the 30s (just wait for November to claim that milestone!).

November 2025

🌦️ November Weather Recap – More Record Rain Keeps Falling!🌩️
What a year it’s been! 🌧️ 2025 is officially our wettest year since my records began in 2010—and we still have December to go.
September delivered 2.64 inches of rain, October followed with 2.69 inches (the second-wettest October on record), and November kept the momentum going with 3.72 inches, also the second-wettest November since tracking began.
That brings our year-to-date total to an incredible 32.24 inches of rain. Sedona is looking lush, vibrant, and refreshed—and best of all, our area remains free of drought conditions. A wonderful gift for the red rocks and our desert flora. 🌵💧

☀️ Sunshine Stats
Even with the storm activity, November delivered 23 sunny days, pushing our 2025 sunshine total to 281 days. With only 19 more to reach Arizona’s legendary 300-days-of-sunshine benchmark, we’re practically guaranteed to hit it again this year.

🌡️ Temperature Trends

• Mean Temperature: 51.7º — a cool-down of 9º from October, but still 6º warmer than November 2024.
• Despite the rain, daytime highs remained comfortable, especially during the first half of the month.
• Evenings brought a cozy fall vibe—long pants, sweatshirts, and gloves became the uniform for early-morning jogs and evening strolls.
• Overnight lows slipped into the low 40s and frequently into the 30s, with frost making its first appearances late in the month.

2024

Winter 2024 - (Part of December (2023), January, February, and March)

As we end the year (2023), there were 295 days of sunshine in Sedona. There was a total of 83 days of rain for 20.83 inches of rain. The snow totals were 29.95 inches and the second highest total since I started taking records in 2010. Overall, we had a pretty good year for precipitation.

There were even a couple of days in the seventies which was very surprising but also welcomed. The Japanese Maple Tree in our front courtyard made it all the way to December 21st before we battered the dead leave off the tree. We were worried that rain was coming and the dead leaves would fall from the tree and stain the pavement. We did get rain on December 22nd.

Sometimes we will see snow at the end of the year but we did not get any snow in late 2023.

January 2024

As January 2024 rolled around, a snow storm did come in. We had around two inches of snow. What was unusual was how long it lasted. This was a very cold front which drove the high temperatures down during this storm. The snow last 5 days in areas where there was no sun. The Low temps in the morning were in the "teens". It lasted from January 8th to the 13th.

The lowest temp was 13.5º on January 12th. On the opposite scale, we had a high of 73º. The normal high in January is 58.2º. Three days at the end of the month were in the 70ºs.

February 2024

February had very typical winter weather. I was hoping to see more than four days in the 70ºs. There was more than 4+ inches of rain and 4+ inches of snow.
The high temperature was 71º while the low was 22.4º.

La Niña ~ Is Sedona and Arizona Heading Into This

Climate Cycle in 2024?

~

Discover More At the Links Below…

La Niña & El Niño Explained

Monsoon

May 2024

The biggest change in our weather from April would be the fact that we did not see any precipitation all month. Besides the 9.8 inches of snow, we had a total of 19.14 inches of rain through April. The entire month of May we were dry.

Sedona saw sunshine all month long. The Cottages at Coffeepot reached 101º on the last day of the month. There were no days that dipped below 32º and the mean temp for the month was 66.3º.

Saving Grace…

The lows every night were in the low to mid 60ºs. The highest low was 70.2º. There were only a couple of days that we kept the windows closed and left the air on at 78º which is very comfortable at night with the fan on low speed.

It rained on 6 different days. Some of the rain was so heavy that I was not sure if the rain gauge was able to record it accurately. I just purchased a manual rain gauge to capture heavy amounts of rain more accurately.

August 2024

August was another repeat of July. The high temps were unending. From the end of July through the 6th of August every day was over 101º. However, the mean temperature was 4º cooler than July. Unlike July when there were eighteen days over 105º with most approaching the 110º mark, there were only one day over 105º at 105.9.

The lows every night were in the low to mid 60ºs with two days in the low 70ºs and two days made it into the mid-50ºs. So the warm days definitely reached a peak in July.

Again in August, there were only a couple of days that we kept the windows closed and left the air on at 78º which is very comfortable at night with the fan on low speed. Usually the house drops down to 76º to 77º with the windows open and the AC off at night. We usually open the windows after 8 PM during the warm months. Most of July and August, the windows were open between 9 and 10 PM.

We had another good month of rain in August. There were 11 days of recorded rain. With my newly purchased rain gauge, I was able to record an additional 0.18 inches of rain. Overall, the digital rain gauge is fairly accurate except during huge downpours.

2023

Winter 2022-23

Winter 2022 starts on December 21, 2022. So the last 10 days of December 2022, are included in this journal entry.

December 2022 - followed November's cooler weather trend. The Stats will bare that out. Again, December felt more like January than the December we had last year in 2021.

Last year, the high was 72.1º, whereas the high this year was 65.9º. This was a 6.2º difference. The low last year was 21.8º, while this year the low was 18.2º. This was the lowest Temperature of 2022! The mean average for 2021 was 42.1. This year it was 40.5º. That is huge when you compare the same months year to year.

There were 21 days of sunshine in December. This brings the total to 286 days for the year. We had rain on 12 different days, bringing the total number of days up to 72. This was 12 days more than 2021.
Just like November, not one day made it into the 70ºs. Last year, 2 days were in the 70ºs and 5 were in the 60ºs. There were 11 days in the 60ºs last January!

We got 3 more inches of snow for a grand total of 8 inches! This is the second lowest yearly total going back to 2010. Our rain total was in the middle of the pack for the 13 year period.

January 2023 - The cooler weather trend continued for January following the last two months of 2022. The Stats will bare that out. In December of 2011, the average temperature was 37º. This January, the average was 37,1º. This is the 2nd coldest month since I started recording the weather. This is my 13th year recording weather in the Cottages At Coffeepot, Soldiers Pass, West Sedona.

Last year, the high was 63.8º, whereas the high this year was 60.4º. This was a 3.5º difference. The low last year was 18.4º, while the low was 17.2º, this year. The mean average dropped by 4.3º, year to year. This is a huge difference.

I will make one caveat. I have a different weather station than last year. I will continue to monitor the difference in temps. The weather station was replace in August of 2022.

There were 16 days of sunshine in January.

Why was it so much cooler this January (2023)?

We had rain or snow or both, on 14 different days. This is 10 more days than January of 2022. Our rain and snow totals were 2nd overall for any month I have recorded since 2010. We got 8.75 inches of wet snow and 6.28 inches of rain. That totals 17.68 inches of precipitation. This compares to a total or 25.61 of dry snow in February of 2019 and 3.27 inches of rain. When combined, the precipitation total is 21.27 inches.

I think all the precipitation and snow helped to keep temps lower for the month. The good news is that we are out of drought conditions for Sedona. In fact, most of Arizona is out of severe drought conditions.

The image above shows the color of the bushes during Spring in the Cottages At Coffeepot.

As April 2023 came in, the weather was still pretty brisk. We were wondering if it would ever warm up. Finally, during the second week of April, the temperature started to warm up. Within 2 days, we went from our first 80º temperature to 90.3º by April 11th. Since then, the temperatures have been very pleasant. We have yet to run the AC at all. The house stayed cool enough that we didn't have to run it.

During April, the average was 58.3º. This was a 14º welcomed change from March. It felt like spring was here! There were no days of precipitation and there were 28 days of sunshine.

This was the first month in quite awhile there were temperature changes through 5 categories. The temperature ranged from the 90ºs down to the 50ºs. It was a good mix.

There is one caveat. My weather station was replaced last August 26th. I will keep monitoring the temperatures with that in mind as we complete the yearly cycle.

Even though we did not have rain in Sedona, The snow melt is contributing to a higher than normal runoff, causing flooding in some areas. Sedona was not impacted by this.

The good news is that we continue to mitigate drought conditions for Sedona and Arizona. In fact, most of Arizona is out of severe drought conditions for the short term.

This image is a special location that most hikers will not find. It shows the lichen on the rocks. You can see in the distance, the iconic Cathedral Rock.

May was one of the most pleasant months we have experienced. Last May (2022) we had 10 days at 90º or above. This year, there was only one day at 90º. Because there were clouds and some weather in the late afternoons, many people thought we were getting an early monsoon! In fact, we were not having monsoon conditions. But this weather pattern kept us cooler.

The temperatures have been very pleasant. May was another month that did not see the AC power up. The house stayed cool enough that we didn't have to run it.

I like to remind people who follow my weather, that the weather station was replaced last August 26th, 2022. I will keep monitoring the temperatures with that in mind as we complete the yearly cycle.

Even though we did not have rain in Sedona, The snow melt is contributing to a higher than normal runoff, causing flooding in some areas. Sedona was not impacted by this.

Most of the days were in the low to mid 80ºs for the month. There were 4 days in the 70ºs, with one day hitting 90º.

The good news is that we continue to mitigate drought conditions for Sedona and Arizona. In fact, most of Arizona is out of severe drought conditions for the short term. Our plants, flowers, trees, and grass are the healthiest that we have seen. It is a wonderful surprise.

This image above is from the exit gate of the Cottages At Coffeepot.

June was another pleasant month. We continue to pinch ourselves with all this good weather. Last June (2022) we had 7 days at 100º or above, and a total of 24 days over 90º. This year, there was only two days over 100º. The average for the month was 5.5º less than last year. Some of the days the lows were in the mid 40ºs. The heater even kicked on a few of those mornings. We replaced the HVAC system last October and it has had very little use until the end of June. By little use, I mean less than 4 hours total for the first 3 weeks of June. It was amazing how nice our home stayed because of the mild June weather. We continue to mitigate drought conditions for Sedona and Arizona. Of course this may be short lived if we do not see a lot of rain in July. Our plants, flowers, trees, and grass continue to thrive and are the healthiest that we have seen.

The Super Blue Moon Setting Over the Cottages on August 30th
August 2023

The sweltering heat that we experienced in July (see all the records), broke in August. We had 7 days over 100º. Putting this in perspective, there were 30 days over 100º, and last year, during the entire, we only had 26 days over 100º. In 2021, there were only 25 days for the entire year over 100º. Another key factor was our low temperatures. There were 26 days in the 60ºs or below for the low. This allows us to turn off the AC and open the windows all night long. It makes the warm days much more bearable. As for our precipitation, we have been blessed with a lot of rain. There was 3.28 inches of rain in August. There has only been one other August that exceeded that amount since I have been keeping records. The total rainfall for the year has already exceeded the entire year of 2022 at 18.19 inches (as of August.)

September 2023

Enjoying the views and the pool during the last days of summer 2023. Notice the monsoon thunderstorms developing on right side of the image.

Three more weeks of Summer… There were perfect conditions to allow warm ocean air to be sucked up into Arizona from the Gulf. A high pressure area was being pushed into Texas by a low pressure area off California. The opposite rotation of the high and low pressure zones allowed this water saturated air to fill the state. The rainbow above was created from a sunrise. Also, cooler morning temps that dipped into the 50ºs during the first week cooled the inside of our home allowing the windows to be open longer during the day. The early days of fall brought on some 90º weather. Not very typical for this time of year.

October 2023

Sedona and all of Arizona, continued to see unseasonably warm weather due to high pressure. We had very little rain and cloud cover. There were ten days in October that had temps over 90º. Back in 2022, there were only eight days of temps over 90º in September. There were no days in October. This increased the overall temperature average for the month. The average temperature for October increased by 6.5º from 2022. The warmest day was well over 7º this year versus last year. The low temperatures were no different. They were about 7º warmer this year.

This will have an effect on the change of season for our color of leaves. It will delay the process. I should also note that the heater in the house had not turned on until October 25th.

November 2023

As we start to hit late fall, I like to see how deep the color is in our Japanese Maple. This year the color didn't peak until November was behind us. As I looked at the numbers for October and November we had a total of 14 days in the 80ºs. Five of those days were in November. We had no days in the 70ºs or 80ºs last year in November. Also, the heat did not kick on until mid November, right before Thanksgiving.

It felt like a warmer month, even though the average was about normal for November. Last year the average 8.5º colder. I think this is why the Japanese Maple has taken much longer to change color than it did last year. As a side note it is December 9th and the leaves are just falling now.

The precipitation was only eight tenths of an inch (0.80). We did not have any snow which is normal. There were only two days that fell below freezing. We will not hit 300 days of sunshine. We are at 267 at the end of November. With all 31 days of sun in December, it would only get to 298 days of sunshine. But whatever we end up with will still be more than most of the country.

December 2023

It wasn't until the first week of December that the leaves started to fall off the Japanese Maple tree. You can see the top half of the tree's leaves are starting to lose color.


CHANGE—> As I looked at the numbers for October and November we had a total of 14 days in the 80ºs. Five of those days were in November. We had no days in the 70ºs or 80ºs last year in November. Also, the heat did not kick on until mid November, right before Thanksgiving.

It felt like a warmer month, even though the average was about normal for November. Last year the average 8.5º colder. I think this is why the Japanese Maple has taken much longer to change color than it did last year. As a side note it is December 9th and the leaves are just falling now.

The precipitation was only eight tenths of an inch (0.80). We did not have any snow which is normal. There were only two days that fell below freezing. We will not hit 300 days of sunshine. We are at 267 at the end of November. With all 31 days of sun in December, it would only get to 298 days of sunshine. But whatever we end up with will still be more than most of the country.

Spring 2022

Spring 2022 starts on March 20th at 7:33 PM. So the last 11 days of March are included in this journal entry.

In the last week of March, we had a "heat spell". There were 4 days in a row above 80º. This boosted the mean temperature for the month by 3.2º. Our warmest day was 86.1º compared to 78.2º last March. To put this in perspective, last April 2021, we had a high of 88.1º!

So will we have a warmer April this year? We will see…

As a note for covering the plants from freezing temps: Our last day of freezing morning temps was on March 21st. This lasted for about 1.2 hours in the early morning This would not have been enough to hurt the Jasmine we cover. March 9th was the last time we got a hard freeze. It lasted from before midnight to around 8 am.

As for rain and snow in March, there was a small amount of measurable snow and 1.1 inches of rain for the month, but that puts our rainfall at the third-lowest total for the first quarter since I have been keeping records. (2014 = 1.95", 2012 = 2.41", and 2022 = 2.45").

In April, we had a couple of days with hard freezes. One day reached as low as 25º. This caused some frost damage to the new leaves on our Japanese Maple tree. Everything was in full bloom, but the freeze did not do much damage. Our high temp was 3º less than last year, but the median temp was the same. It did feel like a cooler month. We even had the heater on a few days in the early morning.

April Rain: There was only 1 day with .03 inches of rain. Overall up to this month, there were 2.43 total inches of rain from January thru April. Last year there were 5.19 inches of rain. I think this brought out the mosquitos last year. I don't think we will see many early this year.

May was similar to last year, but just a little warmer. There were 3 more days in the 80ºs and no highs in the 70ºs But one day less in the 90ºs. We were able to keep the windows open most of the day. When the temps reached the 90ºs, we put the air on. By early evening the temp outside was cool enough to turn the AC off.

We didn't get any rain in May, and the drought conditions are returning. The trees don't seem to be suffering yet. Hopefully, we will see some rain in mid to late June.

Summer Monsoon 2022

The first 6 months of 2022 had 2.46 inches of rainfall AND 5 inches of snow. Most of that snow came in February!

Since 2010, our backyard weather station has recorded an average of 5.8 inches of rain in July and August combined, so every year we look forward to the monsoon. In 2019, we had El Nińo conditions.  This caused our summer climate conditions to change. There was less cloud cover and less rain which caused warmer temperatures throughout the summer months. This is an a-typical season. As noted below, the normal Monsoon pattern brings moist air in from the south.

June is usually a pretty dry month with very little cloud cover.  So the temps remain high.  In fact, June is usually the warmest month of the year. However, in 2022, we had the most rain we have ever had in June. The rainfall was .79 inches.   The high temperature for the month was 103.9 this year versus 112.3 in 2021!  The average temperature was 1 degree less than 2021.  The additional cloud cover which acts as a blanket probably kept the temperatures from going lower.

The monsoon officially starts on June 15th and ends in September. Sedona usually does not see any shift in the weather pattern until mid-July. However, this year the southern weather flow that pushes up into Sedona started shortly after June 15th. Sedona saw the first rainfall on June 23rd. So the monsoon is here!

Monsoon is all about the the weather. The thunderstorms are dramatic and the cloud formations can be jaw-dropping. So it stands to reason that besides the occasional snow storm, this is the most exciting time for weather.


In August we continued to get a decent amount of rain, 1.97 inches compared to 1.14 inches in August of 2021. There were at least 11 days of overcast. We probably won't get to 300 days of sunshine this year. There are 122 days left in the year and we need 109 to get to 300 days of sunshine. In the last 3 years, the totals have averaged about 100 per year (95, 100, 106). So we may be short. I personally would rather have the state get a lot of rain in the next 4 months. We need it badly.

As for the temperature for the month of August. The cloud cover helped keep the temperatures down. There was only 1 day over 100º in August. August is usually a cooler month than June and July. This year was more of the same.

Learn More About Monsoon

2021

Winter 2021

2021 update…

This is the 12th year that the Weather Station at the Coffeepot Cottages has been keeping records. January is generally the coldest month of the year with December coming in a close second. February and March have been known to have more snow than the other months but as the days push closer to March, the mean temperature usually pushes up about 3º to 4º over January.

It was just last month (December 2020) that I talked about being in an exceptional drought. That is the highest rating for drought. There are 5 designations for drought. Severe is the middle designation moving to extreme and then exceptional. Most of Arizona is in an exceptional drought. However, Sedona was blessed with 2.69 inches of rain and 8.25 inches of snow right here in Soldiers Pass! So, I am hopeful that we are moving in a more positive direction with rain and snow. We need it!

As far as our temperature goes, January of 2021 was similar to January of 2020 with a couple of exceptions. There was one day with a high of 31.3º. This is only the 4th day in the last 11 years with a high below 32º. One of the reasons our snow is generally not as dangerous as areas that get freezing weather all day is because it starts melting or evaporating above 32º. The other exception that was slightly different was 4 days that reached 67º and 68º. The high in January 2020 was only 62º.

During the month of February, we started to see the temps on the lower side improve just a little over January. But isn't that expected as the months move toward spring and summer? The Cottages At Coffeepot are ahead of last year for precipitation. We will keep our fingers crossed that our precipitation remains much higher than our exceptional drought figures we had for 2020.

Winter videos below…

(January 2021) Sedona Winter Snow Event Featuring Zander The Hummingbird

Select this to see a gorgeous image of Thunder Mountain and a video.

You can see a short video below of our Christmas weather.

Holiday Dusting of Snow In Sedona (2019)

Making The Case...

So, when you put it all together, Sedona's weather is pretty darn good.  Did I mention it doesn't get humid? This is another plus in my book.  No real hot sticky or bone-chilling weather, simply because of the lack of humid conditions. Even when it is warm, mornings and evenings are cool. That means you can have windows open bringing in our Sedona fresh air.  We do not run the AC all day. In April, the AC only ran about 2 hours during the entire 12 days at the beginning of the month.
 
Sedona-Lifestyle
 
 A *Comfort Index of 8.0 Means Very Pleasant Temps
 
This April, almost the entire month was above 72º. After leaving behind a fairly chilly March, April was almost perfect. There were only a couple of days that we put the AC on and that was only for a short time. 
 Every morning and evening, the doors and windows could be open to allow that fresh air in as noted above!  A 50º temperature is spring-like in Sedona.
Low humidity means light sweater conditions. 

May has been a little cooler than May of 2020. The average Temperature was almost 3º cooler. No days reached above 93.6. In May of 2020, we had a high of 101.2. The AC was used sparingly. If we had to turn it on, it was mid-afternoon and by dusk, it was off.
Again, very little rain, only .02 inches.

June - (End of Spring 2021) - No rain has fallen though we have been in monsoon since June 15th. As in past years, June is proving to be the warmest month of the year so far. No days have been below 91.2º and we have had a streak of 9 days in a row of over 100º weather as of the end of Spring (June 20th). June 2nd was the first day that 100º+ was recorded for this year. The second warmest day ever at the Cottages was recorded on June 15, 2021 at 112.3º.

Here are the totals and rank by year for the top 4 years since 2010. This includes June through September.

2016 - 10.16 inches
2021 - 9.60 inches
2012 - 9.01 inches
2013 - 8.18 inches

In Contrast…
2020 was only 0.91 inches

The last 3 months of 2020 only had 0.12 inches of rain putting 2020 in last place in the last 11 years for rain total at 8.15 inches. No other year has been less than 13.66 inches of rain.

See Sheri’s blog on "Monsoon" for more information.

When Will Sedona's Fall Color Peak?

Is The Draught Over?

As for the draught condition, this monsoon has helped in the short term but Arizona's extreme draught conditions will not be over until the dams and reservoirs fill back up to normal conditions.

2020

Winter 2020

Winter videos below…

Select this to see a gorgeous image of Thunder Mountain and a video.

We enjoyed our Christmas weather. We even had some snow showers hinting at a White Christmas. We did get a dusting at the end of the year.

You can see a short video below of our Christmas weather.

Holiday Dusting of Snow In Sedona (2019)

This is the 11th year that the Weather Station at the Coffeepot Cottages has been keeping records. January is generally the coldest month of the year with December coming in a close second. February and March have been known to have more snow than the other months but as the days push closer to March, the mean temperature usually pushes up about 3º to 4º over January.

This year, there were 11 days over 60º for a high. This is 2 more than last year with exactly the same number of days (20) in the 40ºs and 50º. The difference being that last year there were 2 days below 40º.

As for precipitation, we only had .63 of an inch spread out over 5 days. 10 days were cloudy. Rain could have developed but nothing fell to the earth. No snow fell in Soldiers Pass Sedona, either.

An area of note: Sedona did get a lot of rain in 2019 which has helped our Juniper Trees bloom more than ever before. At the end of January, during the last front that came in, Sedona had a lot of wind. Many of the Junipers released their pollen. You could see lots of small yellow funnels throughout Soldiers Pass. It looked like yellow smoke coming from the forest areas. Juniper pollen is a big issue for allergies in the Sedona Area.

February was a much warmer month than last year. Last year the temps were cold and we got 25.61 inches of snow. We have not had any snow this year. As we approach spring, our chances continue to diminish. We have had measurable snow only one time in April with 3 other years recording a trace amount. We almost broke 70º on 2/21/20. The February medium temp was 5º higher than last year and the low was 11º above last year's recorded low.


Spring 2020

March was a little cooler than March of 2019. March 2019 was also slightly cooler than 2018. This year the cooler temps had to do with the rain. We had 5.25 inches of rain and some snow flurries near the end of the month. This is only the 5th month of rain over 5 inches since 2010. By the end of the month, our Japanese Maple Tree was barely starting to bud.

April had a little of every temperature range! We enjoyed some Sedona 70º plus spring weather at the beginning of the month and around the 9th, a cold front came in and made it feel like winter for about 5 days. Of course that is if your winter is in the 50ºs and 60ºs.

As for our rain, we had 5 days of rain for a total of .91 inches. This was perfect to enhance all the spring blooms.

Compared to May of 2019, this was a much warmer May. The mean temperature jumped 10º which is pretty incredible. Last year there were no days over 90º and 23 days were below 80º. This May there was only one day below 80º and that day was 78º.

Currently we are on track to hit a little less than 300 days of sunshine right now. We are at 118 days and last year we were at 117 days of sunshine. We ended last year at 296 days.


Summer 2020

Heat: Compared to June of 2019, this the entire weather picture was almost identical! The mean temperature was 3º higher and that was the big difference. Last year there was a total of 1 day over 100º and this year between May and June there were 8 days. As for 90º days, 31 this year versus 22 last year at this time.

With half the year finished, we are currently on track to hit a 292 days of sunshine.

July - 3rd Warmest Mean Temps on Record at 80.8º. July 31st was 2nd warmest day at 110.1. There were 12 days in a row over 100º (7/4 to 7/15). Here is the big difference from other areas. Our low temps are in the 60ºs which means that windows can be opened after 8 pm and don't need to be closed until 10:00 am the next day.

August - 2nd warmest Mean Temps on Record at 81.1º, (July 2010 was 83.6º). There was a 9 day Heat Spell of 100º plus temps.

September - Summer ended on 9/20/2020 and mirrored the prior months of warm, dry weather during monsoon. There was even a very unusual heat spell of 5 days over 100º with a high of 105.9º. We have not experienced this in prior years.

Rain: We had absolutely no rain in June but we did have some wonderful evenings to enjoy open windows and cool mornings. The average low was in the mid to high 50ºs! Monsoon should start sometime in July.

July Rain - Monsoon has started but we have not had much rain. One big downpour at about .23 inches. There were a few days were the clouds were more threatening but no rain.

August Rain - Much like July, we had very little rain with .63 inches. There was one storm on August 30th that brought the daytime temps down to a welcomed 74º.

September - Another month with absolutely no rain. This is the second year that we have had a "nonsoon".

See Sheri’s blog on "Monsoon" for more information.


Fall 2020

September - As summer ended, fall kicked in with more warm weather. From September 20th until the end of the month into October, every day was in the 90ºs.

October - Even though summer ended on 9/20/2020, October mirrored the prior months of warm, dry weather. After checking years prior, October 2020 mirrors September type weather. We had 11 days over 90º in October.

Since I started recording incremental changes in 2011, there have been only 4 years that a 90º temp has been recorded in October. Of course no other year has had this many days of 90ºs with 11 days.

There was even a very unusual heat spell of 4 days over 90º in the middle of the month, peaking in a high of 93.2º on 10/15/20.

We had another month with extremely little rain (.02).

Our low temps were in in the high 40ºs or low 50ºs. We did have to start using the heat near the end of the month but we could regulate fresh air. Because of the low temps, the AC was only used for about 3 hours for only 2 days…total. This gives up lots of time to enjoy the fresh air and reduce the strain on the AC and energy costs.

November - The big news is the lack of rain we have had all year. November just added to that low total by only providing 0.06 inches of rain for the entire month. Our yearly total so far is 8.11. We are 5.55 inches below our lowest total that I have recorded here in the Cottages. We are definitely in a drought.

2019

Winter 2019

On the very last day of the month of December (New Years Eve) Sedona received over 5 inches of snow. This was the second cold front in around a week to hit Sedona. In the previous 3 days there were snow flurries and ½ inch of snow. The average temperature was over 4 degrees cooler then 2017 creating 24 days with early mornings below freezing. January came in with very cold temps with a half inch of snow as well. Last January (2018), there was one day that was in the 70ºs and 25 days in the 60ºs. These were spring like temps but this January, there were only 9 days in the 60ºs, with 16 days in the 50ºs. The lowest temp was on January 1st with a temp of 12.8º. That day managed to get up to 35.6º.

El Nino is responsible for our extreme cold weather this winter and especially February. Sedona had 5 low temperature readings below 20º with 11.2º the lowest temp so far this year. I am pretty sure this will hold as the lowest temperature Last year, only 1 day below 20º was recorded. It was 18.6º. The high temp for the month was 65.7º where as last year it was 73.5º. February had the most snowfall in any recorded month since starting in 2010 at 25.51 inches recorded at the Cottages At Coffeepot weather station.

El Nino

During an El Nino climate shift, the U.S. Southwest as well as the southern part of the United States experiences a wet and in some places, a colder climate with more snow than usual. The warming of the Pacific Ocean generally develops between April and June and will peak in December and January. The affects of this condition have been noticeable this 2019 winter season.

2019 - An Unusual Winter For Sedona

El NIno is responsible for our extreme cold weather this winter, especially February. Sedona had 5 low temperature readings below 20º with 11.2º the lowest temp so far this year. I am pretty sure this will hold as the lowest temperature. Last year only 1 day at 18.6º was recorded. The high temp for the month was 65.7º, where as last year it was 73.5º. February had the most snowfall in any recorded month since starting in 2010 at 25.51 inches recorded at the Cottages At Coffeepot weather station.

Spring 2019

The month of March mirrored the saying “March came in like a lion and went out like a lamb”. The month was not quite as warm as 2018 but it was roughly a very similar temperature pattern. However, the leaves on our Japanese Maple tree are just coming in now. Last year the leaves started coming in the third week of the month. The windows were able to be opened right after the start of spring to circulate fresh air.

27 Days Over 65º in April!

April was a beautiful month for weather. We had our first day of 90º on April 25th. Our average temp was 58º and the low was on April 13th at just above freezing. Considering the El Nino season, we had only .85 of an inch for the entire month. That happened in 5 different days throughout April. There were 10 days between 80º≤ 90º and 14 days between 70º ≤ 80º. Twenty-seven days were over 65º. This is what I would call perfect weather.

Last Year by End of May = 15 Days over 90º - This year only 1 Day over 90º!

May was another beautiful month. The weather was much cooler than normal but very welcome. We still have not used the AC for the entire year. No days reached 90º which is so unusual. Last year we already had 15 days over 90º. So this is a very welcomed relief. We did have .85 inch of rain which brings our 2019 total for 5 months to the highest total of all the years that I have tracked these indices.


Summer 2019

Heat: Sedona weather for June 2019 had below average temps and little rain (.06). This is normal for June and may show that we are moving towards the change of weather patterns coming from the south. So the El Niño conditions may be stalled due to the summer weather pattern. We have had a total of 23 days of 90º which include 1 day at 103º. Last year at this time we had 31 days over 90º and 12 days over 100º. Our overall temperature for highs, average or lows was 3º less than last June. Overall, June is normally the hottest month of the year.

July 2019 had below average temps, and and had some rain at the very end of the month (1.53”). We have had a total of 30 days over 90º and 13 days over 100º. Interestingly, we had one day under 80º because of the monsoon. Everything really cooled off. Last year at this time we had 31 days over 90º and 12 days over 100º. Our overall temperature for highs, average or lows was 3º less than last July which is about the same as June. Overall, June is normally the hottest month of the year, but because we didn’t have much rain, July was slightly warmer than June. Another month of perfect weather. The air conditioner is being used at a minimum so far this year. It cycles for about 9 hours a day. Because of the lack of rain, August temps were slightly higher than normal, averaging a little over 2º. There were 7 more days over 100º compared to 2018 and last year there were 7 days in the 70s and 80s, none this year in August. Normally there is enough rain to cool off the August temps in Sedona. …not this year!

Rain: .06 inches in June - no monsoon conditions. It wasn’t until mid July that monsoon conditions started to develop. We had 1.53” for July. This is less than normal for July. Last July 2018, we had 3.57”. El Niño conditions may still be showing some influence. August had even less rain than July at 0.61 inches. Last year we had 6.02 inches of rain in July and August compared to 2.20 inches this year.


See Sheri’s blog on "Monsoon" for more information.


Fall 2019

In a nutshell… Monsoon never developed which seemed to change our Fall weather as well as the summer. September was warmer than usual. We had 3 more days over 100º than the last two years combined!

At the end of October, the Cottages at Coffeepot received the first freeze. There were 3 days in October and the first day of November that had low temps in the early morning all below freezing. This set the clock in motion to get the process of color change in the leaves moving. The assumption was that the Japanese Maple Tree would be bare well before Thanksgiving. As of December, the tree is starting to shed but is still rather full! This includes 5.5 inches of snow that fell on the branches and started to bend them due to the weight of the snow. (See pic below)

In the afternoon of that same day, you would never have been able to tell that over 5 inches of snow fell. It was evaporating because the temp when the snow was falling was above freezing. By noon, the streets and driveways were pretty clear. We call this "polite snow". It does not overstay its welcome!

Fortunately, the Cottages at Coffeepot in Soldiers Pass West Sedona we also received 5.58 inches of rain as well as snow bringing our year total to 19.37 inches, near the end of the month. So even without monsoon, we have the 4th highest total rainfall in the last 11 years.

With all that rain, snow and low temps, the Mean Temp was still above November of last year. The HI and LOW temps were also 1º higher than last year.

2018

Winter 2018

While the rest of the country east of Arizona is having extremely cold weather and freezing conditions, Our Arizona and Sedona January was warmer than most of the country. The high and low days for January was 3º warmer than last year and the average was 6.5º higher than last year. We did get 1.76 inches of rain in January and just a trace of snow.

In February, we finally received 3.75 inches of snow and 1.97 inches of rain. Overall a good month for precipitation. The mean temp for the month was about 4º lower than last year but well within the normal range. The last 4 Februarys were higher that the historical mean temp which made Spring feel like it was already starting. Overall, we ended winter 2018 with cooler weather than the previous year . The mean temp for the previous two months was at least four degrees cooler than 2017 each month. Precipitation in 2017 for the first quarter was at 7.11 inches and in 2018 it was only 4.41 inches. Days with sunshine are at 74 for the quarter versus 67 for last year’s first quarter.

Spring 2018

We have had a lovely spring so far. It was a little cooler in March but April was a little warmer than last year and the leaves on the trees seemed to take a little longer to unfold. Even though rain totals are around 12 inches off from last year, less rain has not hurt the growth on the plants. There were 2 days of 90º plus highs in April. The mean temp is the highest recorded in 9 years for an April. In May we had 13 days over 90º and only .38 inches of rain. Last May it was .36 inches so we are still behind by about 12 inches for the year. We lost a pine tree in our front yard that could have been stressed from lack of water…


Summer 2018

Heat - The heat has been nothing like 2017 when we had 3 of the top 5 hottest days on record. The heat spell lasted 13 days. We have had 2 times of 4 days each. June has historically had warmer temps than July or August because the monsoon usually does not start until July. In July, a total of 26 days were recorded over 90º but the high and low temps were less than last year’s. The mean temp was .6 higher than 2017. August had more warm days than the previous year.


Rain - In June we had a front move in but only got .14 inch of rain. However it cooled down to a high of 70.5 on 6/6/18 and 85.9º the next day…Welcome relief. By July 6th, the monsoon had kicked in bringing 16 days with rain vs. 20 in the same time frame of 2017. The rain total was slightly less than 2017 and the 4th highest recorded in 9 years. The rain is just right to saturate the ground and feed the trees and plants. Trees are doing well. August had .31inches of rain more than last August. Another good month. Last day of 100º + was August 19th!

See Sheri’s blog on "Monsoon" for more information.


Fall 2018

September’s mean temp was 3º warmer than last year. Days over 90º were 8 more than 2017, but no days over 100º. The low temps were in the mid 50ºs . Only 2 days were in the low 60ºs. The air was very brisk in the AM. September was a wonderful month for weather. There was a significant amount of rain (4.16 inches) that fell in Soldiers Pass on the first 2 days of October. Total rain for the month is the second highest month total in 9 years. October also had the 4th coldest mean temperature in those 9 years. It dropped over 6º from 2017. November was another very cold month. There were 18 days over 70º and 1 over 80º in 2017 but only 5 days over 70º in 2018. Days that dipped below freezing were up over 16 from last year. Days with sunshine rose to 289 for November. Lots of sun in Sedona!

2017

Winter 2017

We had a very wet and snowy winter season. We had 7.5 inches of snow and 7.22 inches of rain. This was the heaviest precipitation in the seven years of this weather almanac. In fact we had our very first Christmas Eve and White Christmas. This was the highlight of the winter season. Overall, 2016 was the most precipitation by close to 4.4 inches. Our temps were probably tempered because of the cloud cover which acts like a blanket to keep the temps from plummeting.

Spring 2017

The year started with a lot of rain. Normally March is not too wet, but this year we got 1.57 inches which brings the yearly total to 7.11 compared to last year”s rainfall of 3.52 for the 1st Q. There were snow flurries on March 30. A very cold winter like storm came in and temp plummeted 23º from the day before!
Our Weather in April was probably some of the best I have seen in the 14 years we have had a home here. No freezing weather and the highest temp was 80º. The average was 4º higher than last year and there was no real threat of rain except for one day. Continuing on in May, another beautiful month. We are still way ahead of last year on rain and everything looks healthy.

Summer 2017

Heat: Another hot spell lasting 13 days from June 15 to June 27 - 2nd longest hot spell on record but the average temperature was highest recorded for a streak at 105.6. Three of the top five hottest days on record were part of that streak ~ (#2, 3 and 4). The last day of 100º + temps was July 9th at 101.3 for a total of 22 days of 100º plus weather. The beginning of August had 6 days below 90º which caused the averages to be a little lower. Other than that, August was a typical August month without the 100º + weather.

Rain: No Rain in the month of June - there were a few drops one day, but not measurable. This is normal for June. Our monsoon kicked in on July 7th. This July had the highest total of rain at 4.36 inches. Last August (2016) we had 5.93 inches of rain. We are still ahead of the record setting total for last year, however we would have to have over 3 inches of rain per month for the next 4 months to surpass last years record. This is not impossible but highly unlikely.

See Sheri’s blog on "Monsoon" for more information.


Fall 2017

We have had very little rain in September (.23 in) and nothing in October. Last year we had 4.2 inches of rain in September, October and November. The last three months have also seen slightly higher overall temps partly because there has been little rain. We are in December and the leaves ar still full on the Japanese Maple in my courtyard. On the last full day of Fall (Dec 20,2017) - there are many trees (including mine) that still have color. This is not the norm, but Fall has been warmer than normal throughout the state including Sedona.

2016

Winter 2016

By the end of 2015, we were one tenth of an inch below are highest year of rainfall! So we did not set the record. We got 1.40 inches of rain which was the lowest total except for 2013 when we got only a trace of rain and snow. We were almost 8 inches higher in rain than 2015. December 2015 was the coldest month. January was another cold month about the same as December. It was one of the coldest and wettest on record and also had the most snow for a January since 2010. However, February was similar to last year, Spring started early to everyone’s delight. There were 17 days at 70º or above.

Spring 2016
 
Spring has been absolutely delightful this year. Temps have been very moderate with not to much rain. If you enjoy the outdoors March, April and May have been great.
There is not much to say except I wish every Spring was as pleasant as the last two years. Our flowering plants have had a good amount of rain and the combined fragrance as you move throughout the courtyard and garden ares is intoxicating. At the beginning of June, summer weather started to show up. We had 5 days in a row in the triple digits.

Summer 2016

Heat: June was hotter than normal. Records were set all over the state and in Sedona as well. We hit a high of 112.7 on the first day of Summer. This shattered the old record set on June 29, 2013 at 109.1 - 3.6º hotter. I feel this will be the record for quite awhile. There were 2 heat spells during the month. One during Spring at 5 days and at the end of the month there was a 9 day spell of triple digit heat. The average low and high temps were 3º warmer than last June. The last day of the month did not hit 80º. See rain below…In July we only had 2 days below 90º. This July was 4º warmer than 2015. The median Temp of 78.5º was the 3rd highest July in the 7 years of tracking it. The temps for August dropped dramatically because of all the rain we had (see below). The average temp was 5.6º lower than July and also 3.4º less than last August. The low and high day was less than last year as well.

Rain: Our monsoon kicked in on June 29th. This finally cooled us down from the sweltering heat we experienced throughout the month of June. July had 2.42 inches which was well below last year’s total of over 4 inches. Almost 1 inch came on the last day of the month. The longest stretch of dry weather was 9 days right after the 3rd of July. August (5.93 in.) had the heaviest rainfall since 2010. That total was almost an inch higher than any previous month. Everything is green and growing right now!

See Sheri’s blog on "Monsoon" for more information.


Fall 2016

So far our Fall season has been pretty mild. Temps have fallen right in line with the averages of past years. During Thanksgiving, our color in the area is still peaking and many of the trees still have the leaves. Back in August, we were looking at record totals for precipitation. But September and October show different and smaller totals than last year so we are behind last years totals by five inches. December will have to be a big month!

On November 28th, 2016 - There were snow flurries in the Soldiers Pass area. The snow was about a tenth of an inch. Normally we get very little snow this time of year. This is my earliest observation of snow falling.

2015

Winter 2015

Up until the last day of the year, we had not had any measurable snow. On December 31st, we got 8 inches of snow and 2 more inches fell on January 1st. January 1st, the high temp was only 36º. The high for the month was 70.5º approx. 4º higher than 2014. The big difference was the low temperatures compared to January 2014. The low last year was 52.1 and this year we had 9 days which were colder than the coldest day last January. We got rain right before the Sedona Marathon (Jan 31st) and the Forest Service cancelled the marathon because of mud. It was unsafe. Two indices stand out this winter. We got more precipitation this winter than any winter in the past 5 years. The winter was noticeably warmer than in years’ past, especially comparing it to the previous year which was considered another warm winter. It was 6.6º warmer than the February average and 2.8º warmer than last year. Most days, just a no sweater or just a light sweater was needed. Trees started blooming early February by the beginning of March, it felt like Spring all over Sedona.

Spring 2015 

The old saying “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” held true to the words. In the first few days of March, a cold front came through dropping the temps and all the rain for the month. By the end of March, the high temperature and averages were closer to April’s averages than March. All in all, Spring was kick-started early in 2015 and the majority of trees and bushes were full of leaves by the end of the month. April, May and June are historically the driest months of the year. The last two years for that time period we have only received .42 inches of rain in 2 the 2 Spring quarters! But this April, that trend has changed. A cold front came through and dropped .93 inches. May was a lot like April. We have had record rain for May (1.91 inches). June is normally the driest month of the year with .01 total precipitation since 2010. Warm weather did not start until May 29th, so a pleasant Spring lasted from February thru May. We got about 10 more weeks of extremely pleasant weather for that time period.

Summer 2015

Heat: We had more days over 100º in June than we had in all of 2014 (16 days). There were 23 days in June over 90º, with a high of 106.1. On the average, this summer was warmer than most. This includes the month of September which was very close to the same temps as August. Normally, the change of seasons is more obvious; not this year!

Rain: Using the old definition of Monsoon (3 days or more of 55º dew point = monsoon conditions, our monsoon started on June 9th. It went for 6 days and then started back up on June 27th. Historically may and June are our driest months. We had .66 inch of rain in June bring our total to 9.01 for the year. Since 2011 the average rain for the first half of the year is 3.6 inches except for 2010 which had 9.74 inches. 2010 ended with 21.56 inches of rain. We are on track to hit over 20 inches of rain based on 2010 totals which would be 6.5 inches more that 2014. July had over 4 inches of rain (4th highest month total in last 6 years. There were only 2 days over 100º the last being on July 3rd. this August was warmer that last year by a 6º average. We had 8 days in a row over 100º, which is very unusual. This contributed to the warm Lo & Ho averages. This August competed with June as the warmest month. Normally the cloud cover from monsoon lowers the temperatures in August. The added precipitation in August exceeding all of last year’s total rainfall. We have 4 months to go to continue to add to the total precipitation for the year. In September, we only had .71 inches of rain. This is the lowest monthly September total in the last 6 years.


See Sheri’s blog on "Monsoon" for more information.

 NOTE:

Fall 2015

There were 5 days in October over 90º. We continued to get more rain than normal 2.65 inches. This is the second highest total for rain since 2010 when we got 3.44 inches. The average high temperature was a pleasant 78º. Typically in early Fall including October, air conditioners and heat are rarely turned on. We had our first day of snow on November 4th (just a trace) but the temp did not get above 44º. The rest of the month was much cooler than normal. In fact, November was more comparable to January weather than a typical November. there were 5 days with a high below 50º. 2 of those days did not reach a high of 45º, and 18 days had low temperatures below freezing. Our low temp for November was 19.6º. Rain total for the 11 months is 20.06 in. We are only 1.5 inches below our all time high rainfall for the last 6 years.