The warmest places in the USA in winter

The warmest places in the USA in winter are in Hawaii, then South Florida and the Keys, then the desert Southwest. On NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals, Hawaii's January average highs run from 78.7°F (26°C) at Hilo to 82.2°F (28°C) at Kahului on Maui. Miami follows at 76.2°F (25°C) and Key West at 75.8°F (24°C). Palm Springs leads the desert stations we read, at 70.5°F (21°C).

The ranking is ours, by January average high, with one named NOAA station per place. Every °C figure is our conversion, rounded to the nearest degree. We read the figures below on 13 November 2026 on NOAA's monthly climate normals and tide-station records, the US Naval Observatory, the National Weather Service in Honolulu, the National Park Service and NIST.

For the whole year region by region, read our guide to the best time to visit the USA. For the parks month by month, see US national parks by season.

Which are the warmest places in the US in winter, by NOAA's January highs?

The warmest places in the US in winter, ranked by NOAA's January average high, are four Hawaii airports and then five South Florida stations. Brownsville, Texas, comes next at 72.6°F (23°C), and Palm Springs is the first desert station. The table gives 22 of the 35 stations we read. The days column is NOAA's own count of days at or above 70°F (21°C) in an average January.

The spread is wide. Kahului is 23.7°F warmer than Las Vegas on an average January day, and 6.4°F warmer than Key West. Every Hawaii station reaches 70°F on all 31 days of an average January. Miami does so on 27.1 days, Palm Springs on 17.9 and Las Vegas on fewer than one.

The station matters as much as the town. Los Angeles International Airport averages a January high of 66.3°F, against 68.0°F downtown. Fort Lauderdale's city station reads the same 75.6°F high as the airport, but its January low is 57.7°F against 60.9°F.

Which warm places suit December, January or February?

The warm places to visit in December differ from those that suit February, because the desert warms by February while Hawaii and South Florida barely move. The warmest places in the US in January, Hawaii and South Florida, stay the warmest in December and February on NOAA's normals. Honolulu averages 81.8°F in December, 80.5°F in January and 80.5°F in February. Miami reads 78.2°F, 76.2°F and 78.2°F, with January the coolest of the three months.

The desert gains most in February. Death Valley's Furnace Creek station averages 65.6°F in December and 73.7°F in February, with 20.0 days at 70°F or more. Palm Springs airport goes from 69.2°F in December to 73.7°F in February, and Phoenix from 66.2°F to 70.8°F.

For winter sun in the USA, the three groups trade different things. Hawaii is warm by day and by night, with the warmest sea of the four tide stations we read. South Florida is a few degrees cooler and dry, and December to February lies outside the Atlantic hurricane season, which ends on 30 November. The desert has bright, cool days, cold nights and the shortest daylight of the four places in the daylight table further down.

Where in the US are winter nights warm as well as the days?

Winter nights are warm only in Hawaii and the Florida Keys. Kailua-Kona averages a January low of 68.6°F (20°C), Honolulu 66.8°F (19°C) and Key West 65.5°F (19°C), and Miami follows at 61.0°F (16°C). The warmest desert night on our list is Palm Springs airport, at 47.6°F (9°C).

The desert places are warm-day places, not warm-night ones. Phoenix drops from a January high of 67.6°F to a low of 46.0°F, and Tucson from 66.5°F to 40.8°F. The table counts NOAA's average nights at or below freezing, 32°F (0°C), in each winter month.

Central Florida sits between the two groups. Orlando's January low is 49.5°F and Tampa's 52.8°F, so an evening there needs more than a T-shirt. Saguaro National Park describes Tucson's winter as "delightful with mildly warm days", with nights averaging 40 degrees.

Which warm-winter places stay dry in January, and which get rain?

January is the dry season in South Florida and the Sonoran desert, and a wet month on the California coast and at Hilo. NOAA's January normals give Key West and Miami 1.83 inches each, Phoenix 0.87 and Palm Springs airport 1.14. Death Valley gets 0.37 inches, Yuma 0.39 and Las Vegas 0.56.

Hawaii splits by station. Hilo averages 7.86 inches in January, the wettest figure on our list, against 1.35 at Kailua-Kona and 1.84 at Honolulu. Downtown Los Angeles gets 3.29 inches and San Diego 1.98. New Orleans, at 5.18 inches, is both wetter and cooler than the places above it in the main table.

How warm is the sea at Honolulu, Miami, Key West and San Diego in January?

The sea in January is warmest of the four at Honolulu, where NOAA's tide station averaged 77.2°F (25°C) over 2015 to 2024, and coolest at San Diego bay, at 60.3°F (16°C). These averages are ours, not NOAA's. NOAA's Coastal Water Temperature Guide, which published monthly water averages by station, was decommissioned on 5 May 2025.

We averaged the hourly readings of four NOAA tide stations for each December, January and February from 2015 to 2024. A month counted only if it had at least 90% of its hourly readings, so each station rests on a different set of years.

Honolulu's January water is 17.0°F warmer than San Diego bay's and 4.5°F warmer than Key West's. Key West's water cools into January and warms again from February. Two of the stations are not on the open sea: Virginia Key lies inside Biscayne Bay, and the San Diego station is in the bay.

The Florida Keys' tourism council says its winter water averages in the mid-70s. NOAA's Key West station agrees for December and February, and reads about 2°F lower in January. Our Key West guide covers the rest of a visit to the island.

How long is the shortest day in Key West, Honolulu, San Diego and Phoenix?

The shortest day of 2026, 21 December, gives Honolulu 10 h 50 min of daylight, Key West 10 h 37 min, San Diego 10 h 00 min and Phoenix 9 h 57 min. The times are the US Naval Observatory's, in local standard time. The daylight length is our arithmetic, sunset minus sunrise.

Honolulu has 53 minutes more daylight than Phoenix on 21 December, and 13 minutes more than Key West. In San Diego the sun sets before 5 p.m., so a beach afternoon there ends early.

When is the north shore of Oʻahu unsafe in winter?

Oʻahu's north shore is where Hawaii's winter surf turns into a hazard, while the south-facing shores stay smaller. The National Weather Service in Honolulu issues a High Surf Advisory on north-facing shores at 15 feet and a warning at 25 feet. Its heights are the full face of the wave, from trough to crest.

The forecast of 12 November 2026, issued at 3:44 p.m. HST, shows how the shores differ on one day. A High Surf Advisory remained in effect for north and west facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oʻahu and Molokai, and for north-facing shores of Maui. North-facing surf was forecast at 12 to 16 feet that evening, while south-facing surf, where Waikīkī lies, was 2 to 4 feet.

Hawaii's Division of Aquatic Resources says winter current and wave conditions at Pūpūkea, on the North Shore, become extremely dangerous. Lifeguards are on duty at Waimea Bay but not at Three Tables or Shark's Cove. Read the National Weather Service surf forecast on the morning you go, and see our Honolulu guide for the rest of Oʻahu.

Which months are the Everglades dry season, and what does the park charge?

Everglades National Park gives three different dry seasons on three of its own pages: typically December through April on its basic information page, about December to mid-May on its weather page, and November through April on its dry-season page. All three cover December to February. The park says the dry season is also its busy season.

The park's weather page gives winter temperatures from the low 50s to the upper 70s °F. It adds that cold fronts occasionally bring near-freezing temperatures to south Florida. NOAA's Royal Palm station, in the park, averages a January high of 78.0°F (26°C) and a low of 55.1°F (13°C).

Everglades is one of the 11 parks on the Park Service's surcharge list. A visitor from abroad aged 16 or over pays an extra $100 per person on top of the standard entrance pass of $20 to $35. The park does not accept cash. Death Valley, Saguaro, Big Bend, Biscayne, Dry Tortugas, Haleakalā and Hawaiʻi Volcanoes are not on the list.

Our guide to national park fees for international visitors explains the passes, and our Everglades National Park guide covers the park itself.

Which warm-winter national parks are busiest from December to February?

The desert national parks take their largest share of the year's visits in winter, while the Florida Keys and Maui parks peak in other months. The table shows the Park Service's 2025 visit counts as our arithmetic: December to February visits divided by the year's total.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes had its busiest month of 2025 in January, with 181,117 visits. Big Bend says its busy season is generally November through April, and its lodging is often full from mid-January to mid-April and over Christmas. Death Valley says the best time to hike there is from November through March.

What time is it in Arizona and Hawaii in winter?

Arizona and Hawaii keep standard time all year, because neither observes daylight saving time, according to NIST. The Navajo Nation in Arizona does observe it. Federal regulation puts Arizona in the Mountain zone and the whole of Hawaii in the Hawaii-Aleutian zone.

From 1 November 2026 to 14 March 2027, Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time, UTC-7, one hour ahead of California. Hawaii stays on UTC-10, five hours behind New York in winter and six in summer. A drive from Palm Springs to Phoenix therefore moves the clock forward an hour in winter.