Also known as the "Sun City", El Paso's
climate is characterized as moderate with an abundance of sunshine. The sun
shines on El Paso 302 days per year or 83% of the daylight hours, according to the
El Paso Weather Bureau. El Paso
experiences high daytime summer temperatures, very low humidity, scant rainfall
and a relatively cool winter season.
March and April dust and sandstorms
are the most unpleasant features of the weather. While wind velocities are not
excessively high, the soil surface is dry and loose and natural vegetation is sparse,
so moderately strong winds can raise considerable dust and sand.
The highest precipitation occurs in the months of July, August, and September.
Though summer highs are frequently above 90 degrees and occasionally above
100 degrees durring the day, summer nights are usually comfortable with minimum temperatures
around the sixties. Cool showers from July through September help to cool down,
otherwise, hot summer days. However, the average rainfall for the "rainy" season is
only 1.41" per month. The total annual rainfall is just over 8 inches. Small
amounts of snow fall nearly every winter, but snow cover rarely amounts to more
than an inch and seldom remains on the ground for more than a few hours.
All this makes for a variety of nice weather that is never boring in a slice
of the country that can't decide if it wants to be hilly, mountainous, or desert
like, so it manages to be all three. Not only do the star sparkle at night, but
also, El Paso bursts with pride at the huge electric star on the eastern side of
Mt. Franklin. From the air this magnificent lovely star is visible from 100 miles
distance.
