Get to know the area.

Arizona has a widely varied climate.  In the southwest part of the state, daytime temperatures above 100 F are normal during the summer months.  

The extremely dry air, however, allows the heat to radiate rapidly so that the nights are cooler.  At higher elevations in the east-central part of the state, winter temperatures as low as -37  F  have been recorded.

 
Arizona receives very little rain because the high Pacific coast mountains block moisture-laden clouds from the ocean, although during the months of August and September Monsoon rains fall on an almost daily basis, mostly in the evenings. 

Most of the rain clouds that reach the state are blown up from the Gulf of Mexico. Average annual precipitation (rain and snow) ranges from about 3 inches at Yuma in the southwest, to 18 inches at Flagstaff in the central part of the state where there is skiing during the winter months.

Southern Arizona's mild winters and northern Arizona's cool summers draw millions of vacationers to the state each year. Arizona has more national parks and monuments than any other state.

  Tourists also visit the state's golf and tennis resorts, Indian villages, natural scenic splendors, dude ranches, and desert and mountain playgrounds.  

Professional sports in Phoenix are basketball's Phoenix Suns, football's Arizona Cardinals, Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks and Ice Hockey's Phoenix Coyotes. The state is also the site of many of professional baseball's Cactus League spring training camps.