The Southwest experiences nearly every variety of extreme weather heat snaps and cold waves, droughts, floods, blizzards, and even tornados are all considerations for residents of the southwestern states.Īverage temperatures found in the Southwest tend to decrease northward, which is largely the influence of latitude and elevation. The location of the Southwest and the topographical extremes across this area strongly influence its weather. For example, parts of the Colorado Rockies experience cool annual temperatures and over 8 meters (25 feet) of snowfall every year, while the dry deserts in southwestern Arizona receive only about 8 centimeters (3 inches) of precipitation a year and can experience as much as a 15☌ (60☏) degree temperature difference between night and day. The main features that influence the area’s climate are latitude, regional topography, and a low atmospheric moisture content that leads to quick evaporation. Photo by Lane Pearman (flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, image cropped and resized).Īlthough much of the Southwest falls within the category of an arid zone, using a single label to describe the Southwest's climate would belie its diversity. Image above: Sun and storm in Weld County, in the Great Plains region of Colorado, 2015. Credits for individual images are given in figure captions. Changes include formatting and revisions to the text and images.
The book was adapted for the web by Elizabeth J. Ross (published in 2016 by the Paleontological Research Institution currently out of print). Swaby, chapter 8 in The Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the Southwestern US, edited by Andrielle N. Resources.Ĭredits: Most of the text on this page comes from "Climate of the Southwestern US" by Ingrid H.
Paleozoic Mesozoic Cenozoic Future climate of the southwestern U.S. Present temperature Present precipitation Severe weather Regional climate variation Past climate of the southwestern U.S. Topics covered on this page: Present climate of the southwestern U.S.