El Paso Weather and Climate
The year 2006 was quite an anomaly for El Paso weather. No one who is alive today has ever seen the river as full as it was that summer. The flooding took everyone (including the meteorologists) by surprise. After all, 84% of the days here are sunny.Overall, the weather in El Paso is pretty great. It is right smack in the middle of the desert, so the summers here get fairly hot. But there are other cities in the Southwest (Phoenix and Las Vegas, for example) that suffer worse heat during the summer months. Also, because it's a "dry" heat, the weather doesn't seem as oppressive as it does in some of the other cities in Texas. Late summer is also usually when El Paso gets most of its precipitation. El Paso Autumns are characterized by a gradual retreat from the hot summer temperatures. There is still plenty of sunshine, so the transition is a smooth one. There are relatively few trees here, so you won't find many leaves changing color. Winter is cool--even cold, on occasion. Dry air loses its heat pretty fast when the sun goes down. But you'll almost never see ice storms or bone-chilling drizzle in El Paso. The rare snowfall usually melts by the end of the day, except in the upper elevations of the mountains. Spring arrives in El Paso with a blast. A blast of air, that is. Temperatures are mild, but the dust storms can get annoying. If you find yourself in the area during March or April, hold on to your hat and any important papers. Sometimes the wind kicks up out of nowhere. On the plus side, Spring in El Paso brings out the poppies on East side of the mountain. That huge carpet of orange covering the desert floor is quite a sight. If you're interested in the raw data, check out the table below. I've compiled this information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual | | Precipitation | 0.45 | 0.39 | 0.26 | 0.23 | 0.38 | 0.87 | 1.49 | 1.75 | 1.61 | 0.81 | 0.42 | 0.77 | 9.43 | | Average Daily Temperature | 45.1 | 50.5 | 57.0 | 64.6 | 73.7 | 82.1 | 83.3 | 81.1 | 75.4 | 64.9 | 52.7 | 45.4 | 64.7 | | Average Daily Minimum | 32.9 | 37.5 | 43.7 | 51.1 | 60.6 | 68.8 | 72.0 | 70.2 | 63.7 | 51.8 | 39.8 | 33.4 | 52.1 | | Average Daily Maximum | 57.2 | 63.4 | 70.2 | 78.1 | 86.7 | 95.3 | 94.5 | 92.0 | 87.1 | 77.9 | 65.5 | 57.4 | 77.1 | | Lowest Temperature on Record | -8 | 8 | 14 | 23 | 31 | 46 | 57 | 56 | 41 | 25 | 1 | 5 | -8 | | Highest Temperature on Record | 80 | 83 | 89 | 98 | 105 | 114 | 112 | 108 | 104 | 96 | 87 | 80 | 114 |

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