Portal, Arizona
Unincorporated community
Portal, Arizona is located in Arizona
Portal, Arizona
Portal, Arizona
Portal, Arizona is located in the United States
Portal, Arizona
Portal, Arizona
Coordinates: 31°54′49″N 109°08′29″W / 31.91361°N 109.14139°W / 31.91361; -109.14139
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountyCochise
Elevation
4,760 ft (1,450 m)
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST)
Area code520
GNIS feature ID9657[1]

Portal is an unincorporated community in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. It lies 25 miles (40 km) south-southeast of San Simon and at the mouth of Cave Creek Canyon on the east side of the Chiricahua Mountains. Often called the Yosemite of Arizona, the rock walled canyon is composed of fused volcanic tuff.[2][3]

The community is a popular location for birding in southeastern Arizona. It is also home to the American Museum of Natural History's Southwest Research Station.[4][5] The ranch of Sally and Walter R. Spofford was a popular birdwatching destination before closing in 2002.[6][7] Other notable residents include the writer Nancy Farmer and her husband.[8] The Arizona Sky Village astronomy community is located in Portal because the skies in the area are free of light pollution.[9]

Portal Peak Store
Portal Peak in the Chiricahua Mountains

Climate

Typical of upland Arizona, Portal has a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with warm to hot days followed generally by quite cool nights. Frequent frosts in winter give way to mild days, whilst most rain comes from summer thunderstorms.

Climate data for Portal, Arizona, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1955–2021
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 76
(24) 		82
(28) 		84
(29) 		88
(31) 		96
(36) 		101
(38) 		101
(38) 		96
(36) 		93
(34) 		89
(32) 		82
(28) 		75
(24) 		101
(38)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 65.8
(18.8) 		70.6
(21.4) 		76.7
(24.8) 		81.4
(27.4) 		89.4
(31.9) 		95.5
(35.3) 		94.7
(34.8) 		90.8
(32.7) 		87.3
(30.7) 		83.1
(28.4) 		74.3
(23.5) 		67.3
(19.6) 		96.6
(35.9)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 55.7
(13.2) 		60.3
(15.7) 		66.2
(19.0) 		73.3
(22.9) 		80.9
(27.2) 		89.3
(31.8) 		87.7
(30.9) 		84.8
(29.3) 		81.3
(27.4) 		74.6
(23.7) 		64.4
(18.0) 		55.3
(12.9) 		72.8
(22.7)
Daily mean °F (°C) 40.5
(4.7) 		44.3
(6.8) 		49.0
(9.4) 		55.1
(12.8) 		62.2
(16.8) 		70.5
(21.4) 		72.8
(22.7) 		71.0
(21.7) 		66.1
(18.9) 		57.9
(14.4) 		48.0
(8.9) 		40.8
(4.9) 		56.5
(13.6)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 25.3
(−3.7) 		28.3
(−2.1) 		31.8
(−0.1) 		36.9
(2.7) 		43.4
(6.3) 		51.6
(10.9) 		57.9
(14.4) 		57.1
(13.9) 		50.9
(10.5) 		41.2
(5.1) 		31.6
(−0.2) 		26.2
(−3.2) 		40.2
(4.5)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 11.9
(−11.2) 		15.2
(−9.3) 		19.2
(−7.1) 		23.7
(−4.6) 		30.8
(−0.7) 		40.2
(4.6) 		50.4
(10.2) 		49.4
(9.7) 		40.5
(4.7) 		28.3
(−2.1) 		18.4
(−7.6) 		12.5
(−10.8) 		9.2
(−12.7)
Record low °F (°C) −11
(−24) 		0
(−18) 		8
(−13) 		16
(−9) 		20
(−7) 		31
(−1) 		42
(6) 		41
(5) 		29
(−2) 		16
(−9) 		−2
(−19) 		−5
(−21) 		−11
(−24)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 1.42
(36) 		1.12
(28) 		0.93
(24) 		0.39
(9.9) 		0.46
(12) 		0.88
(22) 		3.86
(98) 		4.35
(110) 		2.12
(54) 		1.10
(28) 		1.28
(33) 		1.68
(43) 		19.59
(497.9)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 1.4
(3.6) 		0.5
(1.3) 		0.2
(0.51) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.0
(0.0) 		0.5
(1.3) 		1.2
(3.0) 		3.8
(9.71)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 4.9 4.3 3.6 1.9 2.3 4.0 12.1 13.2 8.3 4.2 3.4 5.2 67.4
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 0.7 0.3 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.7 2.0
Source 1: NOAA[10]
Source 2: National Weather Service[11]

References

  1. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Portal, Arizona
  2. ^ "USGS Geological Survey Bulletin 845".
  3. ^ "Payson Roundup".
  4. ^ Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Southwest Research Station".
  6. ^ Smith, Charles R. (2003). "In Memoriam: Sally Hoyt Spofford, 1914–2003" (PDF). The Kingbird. 53 (2): 123.
  7. ^ "Portal--Spofford's feeders (closed since 2002)".
  8. ^ "Blog". Nancy Farmer's official home page.
  9. ^ "News article". Today.com.
  10. ^ "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Portal 4 SW, AZ". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
  11. ^ "NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Tucson". National Weather Service. Retrieved May 6, 2023.

External links

Municipalities and communities of Cochise County, Arizona, United States
State of Arizona
Category