Weather

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Esplanade rainbow.JPG

Summers are very hot in the Grand Canyon. Winters do not get as cold as one might expect but the low angle of the sun in a deep canyon means a lot of shade. There is also a micro climate induced by the cold water which cools the air. The canyon walls create an inversion for the cooler, heavier air near the river. The inversion is around 10 feet in height. This can lead to competition in the summer for campsites that are near the river and in the inversion.









Average temperatures (F) at Phantom Ranch
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Max 57 64 72 82 92 103 106 103 96 83 68 57
Min 37 42 47 54 63 72 77 74 68 58 46 38
Snow below the Redwall...Brrr.jpg




December through January can find snow falling at the river, and sticking below the Redwall as in this January photo. April through June are the dry months. The monsoon season starts in July, peaks in August and may extend into September. While it may seem strange to talk about monsoons in the desert, this is the northern extent of the summer monsoons of Mexico. Not only can there be rain in the monsoon season but it often is very intense and flash floods are common. The Navajo or Dine that live just to the east of the Canyon call this heavy intense rain "male rain". If you are in the Canyon during the monsoon season remember to take this into account when choosing camps, locating tent sites and hiking side canyons.








Precipitation (inches) at Phantom Ranch
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Average 1.0 0.9 0.9 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.9 1.4 1.0 0.9 0.8 0.7


To find specific Grand Canyon weather information, Tubby notes that you can follow this link to the National Weather Service's Flagstaff site. Once there click on the map near Grand Canyon and it will zoom in. Click again on the zoomed map and it will give you a point forecast for the exact spot you clicked on. It's pretty amazing.

Bessie notes the following NOAA weather forecast links come from the Grand Canyon National Park weather conditions webpage here.


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