El Paso, "The Sun City", has an arid, warm climate with very hot summers (with little or no humidity) and mild, dry winters.

 

Temperatures range from an average high of 55 F (13 °C) and an average low of 28 °F (−2 °C) in January to an average high of 97 °F (36 °C ) in June and an average low of 68 °F (20 °C) in August.

 

The city's record high is 114 °F (45.5 °C), and its record low is −8 °F (−22 °C).

The sun shines 302 days per year on average in El Paso, 83 percent of daylight hours, according to the El Paso Weather Bureau. It is from this that the city is nicknamed "The Sun City." El Pasoans find the weather attractive though temperatures can reach 100+ °F.

 

Rainfall averages 8.74 inches (223 mm) per annum, most of which occurs during the summer from July through September and is predominantly caused by monsoonal flow from the Gulf of California. During this period, winds originate more from the south to southeast direction and carry moisture from the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Mexico into the region. As this moisture moves into the El Paso area (and many other areas in the southwest), a combination of orographic uplift from the mountains, and daytime heating from the sun, causes thunderstorms to develop across the region (some of which can be severe, producing flash flooding and hail). This is what causes most of the rain in the El Paso area.

 

El Paso, at 3,800 feet (1,200 m) elevation, is also capable of receiving snow; weather systems have produced over a foot of snow on many occasions. In 1980, three major snowstorms produced over a foot of snow; one in February, another in April and the last one in December, producing a white Christmas for the city. A major snowstorm in December 1987 dumped nearly two feet of snow.

 

Official weather records for El Paso have been kept by the National Weather Service since 1879.