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Tucson weather by month — averages, rainfall & climate trends

Average temperatures and rainfall by month, a climate graph, today's conditions versus the long-term average, and how the climate has shifted since 1940 — all on one page for Tucson, United States.

Right now

What it's doing today vs the historical average for this date.
Mostly clear

Right now

36.6°

37°feels like
28%humidity
15°dew point
12 km/hfrom W
sunrise05:31sunset19:29day length13h 58m
TodayOvercast37°23°
TueOvercast34°23°
WedClear39°24°
ThuClear42°33°
FriClear44°35°
SatClear43°32°
SunOvercast40°28°

On this date — July 20

Today (forecast)
37° / 23°
Average for July 20
37° / 25°

About average

  • Record high: 43.6° · 2023
  • Record low: 21.6° · 1974
  • One year ago: 36.7°

Every July 20 in history — coldest to hottest

Daily highsDaily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each July 20 on record (n = 87). Outlined dots are today's forecast.

Area we sample

Each city's history comes from one ERA5 grid cell — about 28 km across, shown by the dashed box. Near mountains or coasts, conditions can vary across the cell.

Location & data

Historical weather for Tucson is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 32.22°N, 110.93°W, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
32.22°N, 110.93°W
Time zone
America/Phoenix
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

19 of the last 31 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: +0.5°C.

Each bar is one day, from morning low to afternoon high. Warm-colored bars are days whose mean ran above average; cool bars ran below. The dot inside the bar is the daily mean. The shaded band is the typical 10–90% range expected for that date. Average = the day's mean temperature averaged across every year of record (1940–2026) for that calendar date.

This date over the years

One dot per year — the mean temperature on this calendar date. Dots are warmer or cooler than the long-term average (dashed line); the shaded band is the typical 10–90% range, and the highlighted dot is today's forecast. Based on ERA5 reanalysis — modelled estimates, not station readings.

Weather by month

Average temperatures and rainfall for each month — what a typical year looks like, from the full record.

Climate overview

Tucson swings through a wide annual range, with 20.5°C between the monthly means of its warmest and coldest months. The year peaks in July, at 31.1°C over the day and around 37.3°C by mid-afternoon. Roughly 190 days a year now top 30°C. The coolest month is January, when daily means fall to about 10.7°C and overnight lows sit around 5.0°C.

This is a dry climate by most measures, though not a rainless one. In total, Tucson averages about 265 mm of precipitation a year; August is usually the wettest month (41 mm) and May the driest (3 mm).

The record here starts in 1940, and since then the annual mean in Tucson has climbed 2.6°C from the first ten years to the last ten. That last decade has also been the warmest in the record.

Climate graph (climograph)

July is the warmest month, January the coolest — a yearly swing of 20°C. Wettest month: August (~41 mm). Whole year averages ~265 mm of rain.

Bars = average monthly rainfall (right axis). Lines = average daily high and low (left axis). Average = each month's value averaged across every year of record (1940–2026).

Monthly wind

Average daily peak wind at 10 m, by month.

Monthly solar energy

Average daily incoming solar energy in megajoules per square metre — a measured proxy for how sunny the month is.

Tucson month by month — what to expect

Typical conditions for each month, averaged across the full record (since 1940). Daylight is the time from sunrise to sunset. Record high/low are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainDaylightRecord highRecord low
January18.1°5.0°32 mm10.1 h28.8° (1999)-7.5° (1949)
February20.2°6.5°25 mm10.9 h31.7° (2009)-5.6° (2011)
March23.2°9.0°23 mm11.8 h34.3° (1989)-2.5° (1971)
April27.8°12.6°8 mm12.8 h37.8° (1989)0.6° (1945)
May32.4°17.0°3 mm13.7 h41.4° (1951)5.0° (1967)
June37.3°22.3°4 mm14.1 h45.5° (2016)11.8° (1955)
July37.3°25.4°34 mm13.9 h44.6° (1995)18.1° (1992)
August36.0°24.5°41 mm13.2 h44.0° (2025)18.1° (1956)
September34.5°21.8°23 mm12.2 h43.1° (1950)10.2° (1965)
October29.4°15.7°18 mm11.2 h40.2° (2024)-0.2° (1971)
November23.0°9.3°18 mm10.3 h33.5° (2020)-6.2° (1958)
December18.4°5.6°34 mm9.9 h29.3° (2025)-13.5° (1990)

How it has changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +2.6°C.

Each vertical stripe is one year. Color encodes how much that year's annual mean differed from the long-term average. Average = each year's annual mean compared to the average of all years (1940–2026). cooler ← → warmer

Annual mean temperature

Long-term trend: +0.31°C per decade.

One point per year — the temperature averaged across the whole year. The dashed line is the least-squares long-term trend. Based on ERA5 reanalysis — modelled estimates, not station readings.

Seasonal warming

Mar–May is warming fastest: +0.38°C per decade.

Each faint line is one three-month period's average per year; the bold dashed line is its long-term trend. Different parts of the year often warm at different rates. Based on ERA5 reanalysis — modelled estimates, not station readings.

Hot days vs frost days

Days ≥ 30°C per year: 155.8 early in the record → 188.7 recently. Frost days: 14 → 2.

Thin lines are raw yearly counts; thick lines are the smoothed trend that removes year-to-year noise. The hot-day threshold is auto-picked per city so the line actually moves. Average = a centered 5-year rolling average to smooth weather noise.

Yearly hot & cold extremes

All-time high in 2016, all-time low in 1990: 45.5°C / -13.5°C.

One point per year — the single hottest and coldest day recorded that year.

Annual rainfall

~265 mm/year on average. Last decade ran −7% vs that average. Long-term trend: +2 mm per decade.

One bar per year of total rainfall. Dashed line is the long-term average. Average = the average annual rainfall across every year of record (1940–2026).

Day-by-day grid

Each tiny square is one calendar day across the full record — ~30,000 days per city. Use the mode switch above the chart: Anomaly colors each day by how far it ran from the historical average for that date (red = warmer, blue = cooler), Daily mean temp shows the absolute mean temperature for the day (useful to see seasons and heatwaves), and Precipitation shows daily rainfall (useful to spot wet/dry seasons and droughts). Average = the long-term average for that calendar date (1940–2026).

Tucson — Frequently asked questions

Which is the warmest month in Tucson?
On long-term average, the warmest month in Tucson is July (mean about 31.1°C) and the coolest is January (about 10.7°C).
How does today's temperature in Tucson compare to the historical average?
On 2026-07-20, Tucson is forecast to reach a high of 36.6°C and a low of 23.1°C. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 37.0°C and a low of 25.5°C — today's high is about equal to that average.
How much has Tucson warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in Tucson is about 2.6°C warmer.
How much does it rain in Tucson?
Tucson receives about 265 mm of precipitation per year on long-term average, with August typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in Tucson?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Tucson is about 21.1°C. The warmest month is July and the coolest is January.
What are the average temperatures in Tucson by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in Tucson (°C, full record since 1940): January 18°/5°, February 20°/7°, March 23°/9°, April 28°/13°, May 32°/17°, June 37°/22°, July 37°/25°, August 36°/25°, September 35°/22°, October 29°/16°, November 23°/9°, December 18°/6°.
How many days a year does it rain in Tucson?
On long-term average, Tucson has about 47 days a year with measurable rain, totalling roughly 265 mm.

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