Climate and Average Weather Year Round in West Sedona Arizona, United States

In West Sedona, the summers are hot and mostly clear and the winters are cold and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 35°F to 94°F and is rarely below 27°F or above 101°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best times of year to visit West Sedona for warm-weather activities are from late May to early July and from mid August to early October.

The hot season lasts for 3.4 months, from June 1 to September 13, with an average daily high temperature above 86°F. The hottest month of the year in West Sedona is July, with an average high of 93°F and low of 69°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.4 months, from November 20 to March 1, with an average daily high temperature below 62°F. The coldest month of the year in West Sedona is December, with an average low of 36°F and high of 55°F.

In West Sedona, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in West Sedona begins around August 22 and lasts for 2.4 months, ending around November 4.

The clearest month of the year in West Sedona is September, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 81% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 4 and lasts for 9.6 months, ending around August 22.

The cloudiest month of the year in West Sedona is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 41% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in West Sedona varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 2.1 months, from July 6 to September 11, with a greater than 22% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in West Sedona is August, with an average of 11.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 9.9 months, from September 11 to July 6. The month with the fewest wet days in West Sedona is June, with an average of 2.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in West Sedona is August, with an average of 11.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 40% on August 3.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. West Sedona experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 10 months, from June 22 to April 29, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in West Sedona is August, with an average rainfall of 2.1 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 1.8 months, from April 29 to June 22. The month with the least rain in West Sedona is June, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

The length of the day in West Sedona varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 49 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 14 hours, 30 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:13 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 22 minutes later at 7:35 AM on January 7. The earliest sunset is at 5:15 PM on December 4, and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 29 minutes later at 7:44 PM on June 28.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in West Sedona during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in West Sedona, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in West Sedona experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 8.6 months, from October 14 to July 1, with average wind speeds of more than 6.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in West Sedona is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 3.4 months, from July 1 to October 14. The calmest month of the year in West Sedona is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.8 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in West Sedona varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 4.8 months, from February 5 to June 30 and for 2.7 months, from August 8 to October 30, with a peak percentage of 46% on June 8. The wind is most often from the west for 1.3 months, from June 30 to August 8, with a peak percentage of 42% on July 14. The wind is most often from the east for 3.2 months, from October 30 to February 5, with a peak percentage of 35% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in West Sedona throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit West Sedona for general outdoor tourist activities are from late May to early July and from mid August to early October, with a peak score in the third week of September.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit West Sedona for hot-weather activities is from mid June to late August, with a peak score in the first week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in West Sedona typically lasts for 8.6 months (262 days), from around March 7 to around November 24, rarely starting before February 3 or after April 5, and rarely ending before November 3 or after December 17.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in West Sedona should appear around February 17, only rarely appearing before February 2 or after March 7.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from April 23 to July 9, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 7.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in West Sedona is June, with an average of 8.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.2 months, from November 3 to February 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year in West Sedona is December, with an average of 3.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of West Sedona are 34.867 deg latitude, -111.805 deg longitude, and 4,429 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of West Sedona contains large variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 2,146 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 4,554 feet. Within 10 miles contains large variations in elevation (3,819 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (10,410 feet).

The area within 2 miles of West Sedona is covered by shrubs (100%), within 10 miles by shrubs (72%) and trees (26%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (57%) and trees (39%).