How much does your weather change day-to-day?

The subject of temperature variability has always been a popular topic among people who like to talk about the weather. The quip, "If you don't like the weather, wait a few hours," is a popular one in areas where the weather changes frequently.

But exactly how much does the weather change from one day to the next? Where are the places where it changes a lot, and where are the places where it doesn't? Before now, it was hard to quantify those answers. But with the tables we've created below, it's easy to see.

Click on the links below to view the tables for the daily change in high temperature, low temperature, and precipitation in each of our 990 monitored United States locations.

High Temperature  |   Low Temperature  |   Precipitation

Precipitation

The following table ranks how much precipitation changed day-to-day in 2023 in each of the 990 locations we monitor. The more changeable the weather is, the higher the rank. Locations with little changeability are ranked lower in this list. Occasionally, a city will be listed more than once. This occurs because the city is big enough to have multiple observation locations, and each location may experience different weather.

The "Precip Change" column is what the ranking is based on, and is based on the percentage of days that change from dry to precipitation, and vice versa. The more it rains or snows one day, and then not the next, and vice versa, the higher the rank. Desert areas where it is almost always dry, or wet areas where it almost always rains, are ranked lower.

The "Precip to Dry" column reflects the percentage of days that are dry following a wet (precipitation) day. The percentage of wet days following a wet day is the "Precip to Precip" column. "Dry to Dry" is the percentage of days that are dry following a dry day. Finally, "Dry to Precip" is the percentage of dry days that are followed by a precipitation day.

How Much Did Precipitation Change Day-to-Day in 2023?

Rank Zip City Precip Change Precip
to Dry
Precip to Precip Dry to Dry Dry to Precip
1 99712 Prudhoe Bay, AK 52.04% 84.47% 15.53% 87.22% 12.78%
2 99709 Utqiagvik, AK 45.79% 59.00% 41.00% 81.44% 18.56%
3 99611 Kenai, AK 44.41% 72.73% 27.27% 83.92% 16.08%
4 99780 Northway, AK 43.62% 86.36% 13.64% 94.00% 6.00%
5 99709 Bettles, AK 41.50% 56.52% 43.48% 83.64% 16.36%
6 99737 Fort Greely, AK 40.41% 65.96% 34.04% 83.44% 16.56%
7 35401 Tuscaloosa, AL 38.69% 60.38% 39.62% 75.00% 25.00%
8 99760 Kotzebue, AK 38.43% 46.20% 53.80% 71.54% 28.46%
9 99615 King Salmon, AK 37.68% 38.95% 61.05% 64.29% 35.71%
10 99688 Nome, AK 36.65% 41.44% 58.56% 72.00% 28.00%
11 99588 Glennallen, AK 36.49% 50.34% 49.66% 78.26% 21.74%
12 35007 Calera, AL 36.00% 58.33% 41.67% 78.44% 21.56%
13 99501 Anchorage, AK 35.83% 51.12% 48.88% 83.22% 16.78%
14 99775 Fairbanks, AK 35.52% 49.70% 50.30% 84.30% 15.70%
15 36695 Mobile, AL 35.40% 57.47% 42.53% 74.87% 25.13%
16 99639 Bethel, AK 35.33% 35.78% 64.22% 65.63% 34.38%
17 72801 Russellville, AR 35.29% 61.18% 38.82% 76.47% 23.53%
18 99603 Seldovia, AK 35.25% 37.57% 62.43% 69.07% 30.93%
19 99603 Homer, AK 34.95% 40.48% 59.52% 72.73% 27.27%
20 35212 Birmingham, AL 34.78% 59.78% 40.22% 77.72% 22.28%
21 72718 Bentonville, AR 34.67% 56.48% 43.52% 79.52% 20.48%
22 35813 Madison, AL 34.55% 56.57% 43.43% 77.84% 22.16%
23 99827 Skagway, AK 34.18% 39.29% 60.71% 73.83% 26.17%
24 99517 Anchorage, AK 34.02% 42.86% 57.14% 76.97% 23.03%
25 72712 Bentonville, AR 33.58% 55.56% 44.44% 79.07% 20.93%
26 71854 Texarkana, AR 33.58% 56.38% 43.62% 78.33% 21.67%
27 72041 Stuttgart, AR 33.46% 58.00% 42.00% 80.81% 19.19%
28 99517 Anchorage, AK 32.83% 49.14% 50.86% 85.71% 14.29%
29 35661 Muscle Shoals, AL 32.72% 53.85% 46.15% 77.90% 22.10%
30 99556 Iliamna, AK 32.61% 42.38% 57.62% 79.20% 20.80%
31 72315 Blytheville, AR 32.47% 59.30% 40.70% 80.00% 20.00%
32 72903 Fort Smith, AR 32.35% 60.27% 39.73% 77.89% 22.11%
33 36201 Oxford, AL 32.13% 54.00% 46.00% 80.23% 19.77%
34 99645 Palmer, AK 32.00% 48.44% 51.56% 82.31% 17.69%
34 99676 Talkeetna, AK 32.00% 41.46% 58.54% 81.98% 18.02%
34 36615 Mobile, AL 32.00% 59.04% 40.96% 79.69% 20.31%
37 99615 Kodiak, AK 31.80% 31.36% 68.64% 67.54% 32.46%
38 36081 Troy, AL 31.75% 54.90% 45.10% 81.98% 18.02%
38 72701 Fayetteville, AR 31.75% 57.14% 42.86% 80.87% 19.13%
40 72202 Little Rock, AR 31.02% 57.50% 42.50% 79.90% 20.10%
41 99664 Seward, AK 30.58% 34.97% 65.03% 77.89% 22.11%
42 71913 Hot Springs, AR 30.29% 56.25% 43.75% 80.41% 19.59%
42 71730 El Dorado, AR 30.29% 56.47% 43.53% 81.48% 18.52%
44 36303 Midland City, AL 30.18% 58.02% 41.98% 81.44% 18.56%
45 36421 Andalusia, AL 29.93% 56.99% 43.01% 83.98% 16.02%
46 36401 Evergreen, AL 29.82% 56.84% 43.16% 84.44% 15.56%
47 72537 Gassville, AR 29.78% 51.72% 48.28% 80.54% 19.46%
48 36108 Montgomery, AL 29.41% 52.87% 47.13% 81.62% 18.38%
49 95521 McKinleyville, CA 29.15% 40.19% 59.81% 78.05% 21.95%
50 71601 Pine Bluff, AR 28.94% 47.56% 52.44% 79.06% 20.94%
51 99827 Haines, AK 28.77% 32.80% 67.20% 78.79% 21.21%
52 99686 Cordova, AK 26.53% 26.07% 73.93% 72.29% 27.71%
53 86001 Flagstaff, AZ 24.63% 50.00% 50.00% 85.94% 14.06%
54 99901 Ketchikan, AK 24.04% 22.45% 77.55% 72.53% 27.47%
55 99801 Juneau, AK 23.88% 22.58% 77.42% 72.22% 27.78%
56 86046 Grand Canyon Village, AZ 23.53% 47.73% 52.27% 88.04% 11.96%
57 86047 Winslow, AZ 23.08% 74.60% 25.40% 92.38% 7.62%
58 94621 Alameda, CA 22.88% 64.18% 35.82% 90.69% 9.31%
59 86036 Page, AZ 22.34% 61.43% 38.57% 91.13% 8.87%
60 96067 Mount Shasta, CA 21.69% 36.26% 63.74% 85.64% 14.36%
60 94589 Napa, CA 21.69% 54.29% 45.71% 89.60% 10.40%
62 99615 Cold Bay, AK 20.61% 16.60% 83.40% 55.81% 44.19%
63 86301 Prescott, AZ 20.51% 57.81% 42.19% 90.91% 9.09%
64 99835 Sitka, AK 20.14% 19.27% 80.73% 76.67% 23.33%
65 95961 Olivehurst, CA 19.93% 52.38% 47.62% 89.90% 10.10%
66 95354 Modesto, CA 19.49% 55.56% 44.44% 91.39% 8.61%
67 85546 Safford, AZ 19.19% 79.49% 20.51% 90.95% 9.05%
68 85714 Tucson, AZ 19.05% 65.31% 34.69% 91.07% 8.93%
69 93940 Monterey, CA 18.75% 50.00% 50.00% 90.48% 9.52%
69 92106 Coronado, CA 18.75% 57.58% 42.42% 93.69% 6.31%
71 94550 Livermore, CA 18.01% 49.15% 50.85% 90.61% 9.39%
72 86409 Kingman, AZ 17.58% 65.31% 34.69% 92.86% 7.14%
73 85621 Nogales, AZ 16.61% 52.94% 47.06% 91.82% 8.18%
74 91504 Burbank, CA 15.75% 56.00% 44.00% 93.27% 6.73%
75 85215 Mesa, AZ 15.50% 69.44% 30.56% 92.77% 7.23%
76 92327 Daggett, CA 15.38% 84.21% 15.79% 95.74% 4.26%
77 95343 Merced, CA 15.07% 46.00% 54.00% 91.89% 8.11%
78 92833 Fullerton, CA 14.71% 50.94% 49.06% 94.06% 5.94%
79 92363 Needles, CA 14.34% 76.47% 23.53% 94.54% 5.46%
80 90007 Los Angeles, CA 14.02% 50.00% 50.00% 93.33% 6.67%
81 93727 Fresno, CA 13.92% 54.90% 45.10% 95.50% 4.50%
82 85055 Phoenix, AZ 13.55% 75.86% 24.14% 93.85% 6.15%
82 91709 Chino, CA 13.55% 45.10% 54.90% 93.69% 6.31%
84 85024 Phoenix, AZ 13.19% 73.53% 26.47% 95.40% 4.60%
84 85260 Scottsdale, AZ 13.19% 64.71% 35.29% 94.14% 5.86%
86 90250 Inglewood, CA 12.87% 48.89% 51.11% 94.27% 5.73%
87 93301 Bakersfield, CA 12.50% 47.92% 52.08% 95.09% 4.91%
88 93230 Hanford, CA 11.76% 42.22% 57.78% 94.27% 5.73%
89 93534 Lancaster, CA 11.03% 55.26% 44.74% 96.15% 3.85%

If this data feeds your inner weather geek, you'll probably be interested in the amazing amount of weather data available from ForecastWatch. Likewise, if you're looking to assess your own forecasting accuracy or would like to make more informed decisions about a weather provider you're considering or already use, we can provide data to help you.

Please contact us with whatever custom needs you may have. We would love to help!