El Paso, Texas Weather Records and Averages

The city of El Paso is located in the extreme west point of Texas at an elevation of about 3,700 feet. The climate of the region is characterized by an abundance of sunshine throughout the year, high daytime summer temperatures, very low humidity, little rainfall and a relatively mild winter season. The Franklin Mountains begin within the city limits and extend northward for about 16 miles. Peaks of these mountains range from 4,687 to 7,152 feet above sea level.

Rainfall throughout the year is light, insufficient for any growth except desert vegetation. Dry periods lasting several months are not unusual. Almost half of the precipitation occurs in the three–month period of July through September, with brief but often heavy thunderstorms. 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.

Daytime summer temperatures are high, frequently above 90 degrees and occasionally above 100 degrees. Summer nights are usually comfortable with temperatures in the 60s. It should be noted that when temperatures are high the relative humidity is generally quite low. A 20–year tabulation of observations with temperatures above 90 degrees shows that in April, May, and June the humidity averaged from 10 to 14 percent, while in July, August, and September it averaged 22 to 24 percent. 

Winter daytime temperatures are mild. At night they drop below freezing about half the time in December and January. The flat, irrigated land of the Rio Grande Valley in the vicinity of El Paso is noticeably cooler, particularly at night, than the airport or the city proper, both in summer and winter. This results in more comfortable temperatures in summer but increases the severity of freezes in winter. The cooler air in the Valley also causes marked short–period fluctuations of temperature and dew point at the airport with changes in wind direction, especially during the early morning hours.

Temperature + Precipitation

  Monthly Averages Daily Extremes Monthly Extremes Max. Temp. Min. Temp.  
Temperatures
 in F
Max. Min. Avg High Date of 
daily extreme
 high
Low Date of
daily extreme
low
Highest
Avg
Year Lowest
Avg
Year # Days >=
90 F
# Days <=
32 F
# Days <=
32 F
# Days<=
0 F
January 57.8 31.5 44.7 80 24/1970 -8 11/1962 50.3 1953 36.1 1949 0.0 0.3 17.0 0.0
February 63.2 35.7 49.4 83 20/1972 8 04/1956 57.5 1957 40.8 1964 0.0 0.1 10.0 0.0
March 70.1 41.7 55.9 89 11/1989 14 03/1971 61.2 1972 49.4 1969 0.0 0.0 4.0 0.0
April 78.8 49.7 64.3 98 22/1965 23 08/1983 69.9 2002 56.3 1983 1.9 0.0 0.5 0.0
May 87.6 58.6 73.1 105 22/2005 31 02/1967 80.1 1996 68.5 1987 13.3 0.0 0.0 0.0
June 96.0 67.1 81.5 114 30/1994 46 01/1988 88.9 1994 76.6 1973 26.2 0.0 0.0 0.0
July 95.2 70.2 82.7 112 10/1979 57 05/1979 88.0 1994 78.2 1976 26.8 0.0 0.0 0.0
August 93.0 68.6 80.8 108 02/1980 56 25/1973 86.2 1994 76.5 1968 24.2 0.0 0.0 0.0
September 87.9 62.4 75.1 104 01/1982 42 28/1973 79.1 1998 69.4 1974 13.4 0.0 0.0 0.0
October 78.7 50.7 64.7 96 02/1973 25 29/1970 70.7 1950 58.5 1976 1.6 0.0 0.3 0.0
November 66.2 38.5 52.3 87 02/1983 1 29/1976 56.8 1965 44.7 1976 0.0 0.0 7.0 0.0
December 57.9 31.8 44.9 80 02/1973 5 24/1953 50.0 1950 38.8 1960 0.0 0.1 17.3 0.0
Annual 77.7 50.5 64.1 114 1994/06/30 -8 1962/01/11 67.4 1994 61.3 1976 107.3 0.6 55.9 0.0
Winter 59.7 33.0 46.3 83 1972/02/20 -8 1962/01/11 50.9 1995 40.9 1964 0.0 0.6 44.2 0.0
Spring 78.9 50.0 64.4 105 2005/05/22 14 1971/03/03 69.0 2006 59.6 1973 15.2 0.0 4.5 0.0
Summer 94.7 68.6 81.7 114 1994/06/30 46 1988/06/01 87.7 1994 78.5 1973 77.2 0.0 0.0 0.0
Fall 77.6 50.5 64.0 104 1982/09/01 1 1976/11/29 67.1 2003 57.9 1976 15.0 0.0 7.3 0.0

Precipitation

    Total Snowfall
  Avg. High Year Low Year 1 Day Max. >=
0.01 in.
>=
0.10 in.
>=
0.50 in.
>=
1.00 in.
Mean High Year
  in. in. - in. - in. dd/yyyy
or
yyyymmdd
# Days # Days # Days # Days in. in. -
January 0.41 1.84 1949 0.00 1953 0.76 19/2007 4 2 0 0 1.2 8.3 1949
February 0.45 1.92 2005 0.00 1954 0.99 20/2003 3 1 0 0 0.9 8.9 1956
March 0.28 2.26 1958 0.00 1950 0.82 01/1952 2 1 0 0 0.3 7.3 1958
April 0.20 1.42 1983 0.00 1950 0.98 24/1966 2 1 0 0 0.3 16.5 1983
May 0.34 4.22 1992 0.00 1948 1.26 17/1992 2 1 0 0 - - -
June 0.74 3.18 1984 0.00 1951 1.85 28/2009 3 2 0 0 - - -
July 1.58 5.53 1968 0.04 1978 1.77 26/2008 8 4 1 0 - - -
August 1.57 6.85 2006 0.00 1962 2.84 01/2006 8 3 1 0 - - -
September 1.42 6.68 1974 0.00 1953 2.26 22/1974 6 3 1 0 - - -
October 0.68 3.12 1984 0.00 1952 1.29 22/1949 4 2 0 0 0.0 1.0 1980
November 0.40 2.01 2004 0.00 1948 0.85 03/1986 3 1 0 0 1.1 12.7 1976
December 0.59 3.29 1991 0.00 1950 1.46 13/1987 4 2 0 0 1.9 25.9 1987
 
Annual 8.66 17.51 2006 4.21 2003 2.84 2006/08/01 49 22 4 1 5.8 32.7 1987
 
Winter 1.45 4.59 1992 0.00 1964 1.46 1987/12/13 11 5 0 0 3.9 32.5 1988
Spring 0.82 5.02 1992 0.00 2002 1.26 1992/05/17 6 2 0 0 0.7 16.5 1983
Summer 3.89 10.29 2006 0.87 1994 2.84 2006/08/01 19 9 2 1 - - -
Fall 2.50 9.08 1974 0.16 1973 2.26 1974/09/22 13 6 1 0 1.2 12.7 1976
Texas averages and extremes in precipitation and temperature and Top 10 U.S climate extremes.
Winter = Dec, Jan, and Feb Spring = Mar, Apr, and May
Summer = Jun, Jul, and Aug. Fall = Sep, Oct, and Nov
Data period is 1947 - 2010, El Paso Airport.  Source: Western Regional Climate Center