Holiday chill: Santa bringing cooler temperatures to metro Phoenix this week

PHOENIX – Christmas weather will be neither white nor wet in metro Phoenix, but you’re in luck if your wish list includes cooler temperatures.

The Valley forecast calls for above-normal highs in the mid-70s on Monday and Tuesday (Christmas Eve), before Santa delivers a holiday chill.

Unusually warm temperatures will cool by the middle of the week as a weather system quickly moves through the region. No precipitation in the lower deserts, but if you're traveling into N AZ Tuesday night & Wed, be prepared for some light rain & snow. #azwx #cawx pic.twitter.com/AKh5BO1mgJ

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) December 23, 2024

“Then it’s looking like we’re going to have a cold front moving through Christmas Eve into Christmas Day,” Alicia Ryan with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Phoenix told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Monday morning. “So, thankfully, we’ll be cooling off for Christmas. What a gift.”

As a result, metro Phoenix can expect to see highs in the middle to upper 60s, about normal for this time of year, from Christmas Day until the end of the week.

Christmas weather brings break from record highs

The cold front comes on the heels of a four-day streak from Wednesday to Saturday of record daily high temperatures.

Ryan said there’s a miniscule possibility, under 10%, for rain in the Valley on Thursday before chances return to zero.

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which the NWS uses for the city’s official readings, hasn’t received measurable rainfall since Aug. 22, a span of four months.

Meanwhile, the higher elevations in northern Arizona have a decent chance of a white Christmas, according to the NWS in Flagstaff. With overnight flurries in the forecast, residents and visitors in areas above 6,500 feet could be greeted by a dusting of snow when they wake up Wednesday to see what’s under the tree.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s John Roller contributed to this report.

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