Located in the southwestern corner of Arizona close to the border with California and Mexico, Yuma is one the sunniest destinations in the world.
Climate: hot desert
Sunshine
For the best representation of how sunny a given place is, we look at the number of clear days (defined as days with cloud cover below 20%), partly cloudy days (cloud cover between 20-80%) and overcast days (cloud cover over 80%). For more information check the first answer in FAQ.
Total clear days a year: 272.8
Total partly cloudy days a year: 83.5
Total overcast days a year: 9
If you want to move to the sunniest destination in the world which is not located in the Middle East or Africa, look no further – Yuma is your place. There are very few sunnier cities in the world than Yuma. With almost 273 clear days a year and only 9 overcast days, sunny weather is guaranteed in Yuma year-round.
Day Length
Shortest day length: 9:59:55 (December 21, 7:36 am – 5:36 pm)
Longest day length: 14:18:18 (June 21, 5:31 am – 7:49 pm)
Latest sunrise: 7:41 am (January 3-13)
Earliest sunset: 5:32 pm (November 27-December 10)
Earliest sunrise: 5:30 am (June 4-20)
Latest sunset: 7:50 pm (June 24-July 4)
During the winter, sunrise in Yuma is a bit late at around 7:36, but in exchange, you get a longer day with sunrise around 5:36 pm. If you’re an early riser, dark winter mornings might be a bit too long for you. However, thanks to sunrise never earlier than 5:32 pm, you should be able to enjoy at least some sunlight even during the weekdays.
Summers provide a nice mix for both night owls and early risers. With sunrise around 5:30 am and sunset around 7:50 pm, you can wake up with sunrise, but still enjoy some early evening activities while the sun is still up. However, with the extremely high summer temperatures, you’ll probably look forward to sunset and more tolerable temperatures.
Average Temperatures
Mean daily maximum shows the maximum temperature of an average day, while mean daily minimum shows the minimum temperature of an average day. These are the temperatures you’re most likely to experience.
Hottest days and coldest nights show the average of the hottest days and coldest nights of each month of the last 30 years. If you don’t like what you’re seeing please be aware that the numbers here are the 30-year averages of the extremes of each month. You have to be prepared for such days to happen, but it doesn’t mean that they happen every day.
Located in the desert, Yuma features a typical hot desert climate with very hot summer days and cold winter nights.
Depending on how hot you like it (or how hot you can bear it), Yuma is most pleasant between October and May or November to April if you don’t like temperatures above 86 °F (30 °C ).
The hottest summer months are extremely hot – in July and August each day comes with 104 °F (40 °C ) or higher temperatures, meaning that most likely you won’t be able to spend much time outside during the day. Summer mornings and evenings are pleasant, though, with comfortable 77 °F (25 °C ).
During the coldest months – December, January and February – temperatures on the coldest nights can drop below the freezing point, while average minimum temperatures that you’ll experience on mornings and evenings are still relatively low – around 42-45 °F (6-7 °C ). Thankfully, days are pleasant with maximum temperatures around 67-72 °F (19-22 °C ). This means that in Yuma, when heading out during the day, you’ll never need a warm jacket or anything more than perhaps a long-sleeved shirt.
Maximum Temperatures
Maximum temperatures show how many days per month reach a certain temperature. This number is useful to determine how many warm and cold days there are in a given month.
Yuma is a paradise for people who love hot weather. Conversely, if you can’t stand very hot weather, Yuma – with about 60 days of maximum temperatures over 104 °F (40 °C ) – is not the right place for you.
Even in the coldest months, at least a half of a month features temperatures above 68 °F (20 °C ). If you want to avoid daytime temperatures lower than that, please be aware that on average there are about 40 such days in Yuma.
As mentioned above, summers are very hot. During the hottest months, expect at least 60 days of temperatures over 104 °F (40 °C ). Even if temperatures don’t go above 104 °F (40 °C ), they almost surely won’t drop below 95 °F (35 °C ) in July and August and rarely in June and September.
Precipitation
Precipitation shows on how many days per month it rains – and if so, how much.
Not a fan of rain? I have good news for you – Yuma is a very dry destination with very little precipitation almost evenly distributed throughout the year. There’s so little rain that the months with most rain are months during which it’s raining for one or two days.
Humidity
For the simplest indicator of how humid a given location is, we look at its average dew point temperature.
The higher the dew point is, the more moisture there is in the air. This affects how effectively your body can cool itself with perspiration and how sticky the weather feels. A lower dew point means that there’s less moisture in the air and your body can more effectively cool itself.
For the easiest explanation:
- the greater the difference between current temperature and dew point, the drier the weather feels. Conversely, the lower the difference, the more humid it feels.
- during summer, the higher the dew point is, the stickier the weather feels. Generally speaking, dew point temperature higher than 65 °F (18 °C) feels sticky for most people. 70-75 °F (21-24 °C) and higher dew point temperature is uncomfortably sticky or oppressive.
- during winter, the lower the dew point is, the drier the weather feels and can lead to dry skin and cracked lips. If you know air temperature and dew point temperature, you can use a dew point calculator to calculate relative humidity. The air feels dry outside if relative humidity is below 40%. For example, if it’s 68 °F (20 °C) and dew point temperature is 41 °F (5 °C ), relative humidity is 37.35% and the air feels dry.
Yuma features a very dry climate. With dew point never going above 63 °F (17 °C), the weather never feels sticky in Yuma. This means that even on the hottest days with temperatures going above 104 °F (40 °C ), the weather can still feel more comfortable than 86 °F (30 °C ) in more humid destinations.
However, please note that with dry weather comes the risk of dry skin, cracked lips, and dehydration. With low dew point temperatures throughout the year, the relative humidity is often below the human comfort zone. You’ll probably deal with the negative consequences of low humidity on a regular basis.
Wind Speed
Wind speed shows how many days are windy, and if so, how windy. A little breeze during a hot day can feel pleasant, while strong winds on colder days can make you feel even colder. A place can be sunny and warm, but if it’s often very windy, it might not be a particularly pleasant place to live (unless you’re into wind sports).
There’s always some wind in Yuma, but it’s rarely strong wind. Wind speed rarely goes above 17 mph (28 km/h), meaning that moderate breeze is most likely the strongest wind you’ll have to deal with when living in Yuma.
sources:
meteoblue, based on 30 years of data, retrieved April 15, 2018.
Weatherbase, based on 14 years of data, retrieved April 15, 2018.