SOCO
Check out yahoo weather for zip 86303. The reason for the varience in desert/mountain landscape is the altitude of the exact home location. Downtown Prescott is about 5,300 feet. I live 1.3 miles from the center of town and am at 5,710 ft elevation. Some areas are at 5,100 or lower. The major snow line is 6,000 or higher.
A home in the pines at 5,500 to 5,800 ft elevation will get snow a few times a year but it rarely lasts more than a day on the ground. However you can be in several feet of snow within a 20 min drive if so inclined. I have several Pinon Pines on my property that are 40-50 feet high so my location is more like Big Bear than the desert.
Weather now is low 80's day and high 50's at night with blue skies. I spent 30 years living by the beach in OC and grew up in Hawaii and was not sure if I wanted to deal with the colder winters here. Now I look forward to the snow and colder part of the year since I don't have to go out in it for work but I do go 4 wheeling in the forests in the snow.
The monsoon season is mid June to mid Sept and is very enjoyable with rain storms and cool moist air. The only part I haven't adjusted to are the Thunder and Lighting storms.
The 4 seasons are new to me so I really enjoy the various weather patterns. The warmer time is mid May to late June depending on when the monsoons season begins.
Even then the highs are near high 90's mid afternoon but it cools off at night. It is usually 15-20 degrees below Phoenix.
I traded the beach for the mountains and have not even visited Calif in 16 months. We did visit the area 4 or 5 times a year for 5 years before moving so I felt I had seen all of the types of weather here. It can get windy at times especially at my altitude. But I have a view for over 100 miles from my decks so it is well worth it.
Feel free to ask any other questions about the area.
Enjoy!
