Weather in Moab in August

A hard month. August is a hard month in Moab, and worth planning around. Daytime highs average 34.7 °C and the afternoon is not negotiable — outdoor plans move to early morning or evening.

August ranks 10 of 12 — near the bottom of Moab's year. April is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 50 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one.

Rain on 8 days, 0 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for heat management rather than style: shade, water, and a schedule that gives up on the middle of the day.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 16 days clear 35 °C, so a serious heatwave is normal rather than notable. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest August day reached 41.3 °C and the coldest night fell to 12.1 °C.

August is moderately variable: 4 mm in the driest year against 60 mm in the wettest, around an average of 31 mm. Roughly two Augusts in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 7.2 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and the air is dry at 37% humidity, which makes the heat far more bearable than the same figure somewhere humid — and dehydrates you faster than you expect.

How August sits in the year

The month is on the way down: 2.4 °C cooler than July, with September dropping another 4.6 °C. The first week and the last are not the same trip.

Daylight in August

13.7 hours of daylight, losing 1.1 hours across the month. That is between Moab's extremes of 14.8 and 9.5 hours, so days are long enough not to constrain the plan.

An inland climate

With no coast nearby, the year swings a fair way — 39.1 °C between the warmest afternoons and the coldest nights, wider than any coastal city at this latitude would manage. At 1227 m the air is thin enough to matter — sun that burns faster than the temperature suggests, and nights that cool off quickly. Within August itself the daily swing is 14.6 °C, so mornings and afternoons need different clothes.

How busy it gets

Quiet. Few other visitors, cheaper rooms, and a real chance some seasonal operators are shut.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

August in Moab versus nearby

If Moab is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Aspen is a better bet in August — 9.6 °C cooler, 5 days more rain. Park City is a better bet in August — 7.7 °C cooler, 1 day more rain.

So: August is a compromise. April is 44 points better and is what Moab is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Moab

See all twelve months in Moab, or where else to go in August.