Gold Rock Ranch is a weather station located about 20 miles NNW of Yuma, AZ . Like many of the other weather stations east of the Peninsular Ranges and south of the Mojave, this location sees a summer spike in precipitation.
The rainfall totals here are not very significant in any month. This corner of the state is second only to Death Valley for the lowest average annual precipitation in the nation. January is the “wettest” month with 0.62 average inches recorded. But the fact that August comes in second represents a significant difference in the precipitation pattern that dominates the vast majority of the state.
Summers are fierce in this low-elevation desert near the Colorado River. Daily highs average 100°F or more for the four month period from June to September. In fact, the highest temperature ever recorded in California (outside of Death Valley, that is) was a scorching 127°F reading measured here on 07/28/1995. Winters, by contrast, are very mild. Frost, while not unheard of, may only occur a handful of nights per year.
- Köppen Classification: (BWh) Arid low latitude desert (hot).
- Current Conditions available via the National Weather Service.
- Climate data from The Western Regional Climate Center and the National Climatic Data Center
Rob O’Keefe
