El Paso, Texas climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
El Paso's normal year runs from 34°F December nights to 96°F July afternoons, with 8.8 inches of precipitation and 3 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 19.0°C, December lows of 1°C, July highs of 35°C, 223 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEl Paso International Airport
- Station IDUSW00023044
- Location31.81°N 106.38°W
- Elevation3,918 ft (1,194 m)
- Population681,723
On October 22, the normal high in El Paso is 78°F and the normal low 52°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 12%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for El Paso.
- Jan 59° 35°
- Feb 64° 39°
- Mar 72° 46°
- Apr 80° 53°
- May 89° 62°
- Jun 97° 71°
- Jul 96° 73°
- Aug 94° 72°
- Sep 88° 65°
- Oct 79° 54°
- Nov 67° 42°
- Dec 58° 34°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in El Paso each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 96°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.67 in), the least in April (0.17 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59°F | 35°F | 46.5°F | 0.39 | 0.8 | 3 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 20 min |
| February | 64°F | 39°F | 51.5°F | 0.40 | 0.2 | 3 | <1 | 7 | 11 h |
| March | 72°F | 46°F | 58.7°F | 0.24 | 0.0 | 2 | <1 | 2 | 12 h |
| April | 80°F | 53°F | 66.6°F | 0.17 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | <1 | 13 h |
| May | 89°F | 62°F | 75.4°F | 0.43 | 0.0 | 2 | 16 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| June | 97°F | 71°F | 83.9°F | 0.73 | 0.0 | 3 | 27 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| July | 96°F | 73°F | 84.4°F | 1.58 | 0.0 | 8 | 28 | <1 | 14 h |
| August | 94°F | 72°F | 82.9°F | 1.67 | 0.0 | 8 | 26 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| September | 88°F | 65°F | 76.9°F | 1.52 | 0.0 | 6 | 15 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 79°F | 54°F | 66.7°F | 0.59 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| November | 67°F | 42°F | 54.5°F | 0.43 | 0.5 | 3 | <1 | 5 | 10 h 30 min |
| December | 58°F | 34°F | 46.1°F | 0.63 | 1.3 | 4 | <1 | 14 | 10 h 10 min |
| Year (annual) | 79°F | 54°F | 66.2°F | 8.78 | 2.8 | 48 | 117 | 42 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15°C | 1°C | 8.1°C | 10 mm | 2 cm |
| February | 18°C | 4°C | 10.8°C | 10 mm | 1 cm |
| March | 22°C | 8°C | 14.8°C | 6 mm | 0 cm |
| April | 27°C | 12°C | 19.2°C | 4 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 32°C | 17°C | 24.1°C | 11 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 36°C | 21°C | 28.8°C | 19 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 35°C | 23°C | 29.1°C | 40 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 34°C | 22°C | 28.3°C | 42 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 31°C | 19°C | 24.9°C | 39 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 26°C | 12°C | 19.3°C | 15 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 19°C | 6°C | 12.5°C | 11 mm | 1 cm |
| December | 14°C | 1°C | 7.8°C | 16 mm | 3 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023044; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit El Paso?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, October and November. Of those, April has the fewest days with rain (1).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023044.
When is the last frost in El Paso?
In El Paso, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 2 in half of years and after March 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 20 in half of years and before November 6 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- March 21 year in 10 after March 19; 9 in 10 after February 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 201 year in 10 before November 6; 9 in 10 before December 2
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 261 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 286 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 16 in half of springs and before December 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts El Paso in zone 8b across its 20 ZIP code areas (8b in 79934, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, El Paso's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Texas · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00023044; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
What hardiness zone is each El Paso ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. El Paso's 20 ZIP code areas are all in zone 8b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
| ZIP code | Zone | Land in El Paso |
|---|---|---|
| 79835 | 8b | 4.0 km² |
| 79901 | 8b | 5.7 km² |
| 79902 | 8b | 16.9 km² |
| 79903 | 8b | 7.9 km² |
| 79904 | 8b | 30.9 km² |
| 79905 | 8b | 17.0 km² |
| 79906 | 8b | 3.1 km² |
| 79907 | 8b | 35.5 km² |
| 79911 | 8b | 86.7 km² |
| 79912 | 8b | 61.3 km² |
| 79915 | 8b | 23.0 km² |
| 79922 | 8b | 17.3 km² |
| 79924 | 8b | 32.1 km² |
| 79925 | 8b | 45.2 km² |
| 79927 | 8b | 15.4 km² |
| 79930 | 8b | 19.4 km² |
| 79932 | 8b | 25.4 km² |
| 79934 | 8b | 125.7 km² |
| 79935 | 8b | 9.0 km² |
| 79936 | 8b | 50.0 km² |
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in El Paso?
In a normal year in El Paso, 117 days a year reach 90°F (27 of them 100°F or more), 42 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 48 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 117a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 27a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 42a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 48a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 1a normal year
The highest temperature in El Paso's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1887) is 114°F, on June 30, 1994; the lowest is −8°F, on January 11, 1962.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1905, with 17.80 in; the snowiest season is 1982–83, with 35.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023044; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record ELPthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is El Paso, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 53°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 56°F; the driest air comes in February (22°F). April is the windiest month (11.1 mph on average), and April has the most clear or nearly clear hours (68%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°F | 39% | 24% | 8.0 mph | 58% | 13% |
| February | 22°F | 29% | 18% | 9.7 mph | 55% | 12% |
| March | 24°F | 23% | 14% | 10.9 mph | 63% | 7% |
| April | 26°F | 19% | 12% | 11.1 mph | 68% | 6% |
| May | 36°F | 21% | 13% | 9.6 mph | 67% | 3% |
| June | 49°F | 30% | 19% | 8.6 mph | 49% | 6% |
| July | 56°F | 42% | 27% | 7.6 mph | 33% | 10% |
| August | 54°F | 41% | 26% | 7.2 mph | 50% | 7% |
| September | 45°F | 37% | 23% | 7.2 mph | 65% | 6% |
| October | 34°F | 38% | 23% | 7.3 mph | 67% | 7% |
| November | 25°F | 41% | 26% | 7.5 mph | 59% | 13% |
| December | 25°F | 48% | 31% | 7.3 mph | 55% | 16% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00023044. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is El Paso?
Over a year 90% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around El Paso, 5.9 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (94%) and December the cloudiest (86%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 21st (with 17 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 87% | 3.7 |
| February | 88% | 4.7 |
| March | 90% | 6.1 |
| April | 92% | 7.4 |
| May | 94% | 8.1 |
| June | 94% | 8.1 |
| July | 89% | 7.3 |
| August | 89% | 6.8 |
| September | 90% | 6.0 |
| October | 91% | 5.1 |
| November | 89% | 4.0 |
| December | 86% | 3.4 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does El Paso need?
A normal year in El Paso brings 2,206 heating degree days, 59% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,662 cooling degree days, 2.9 times the median (908). Four months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 6,347 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 572 | 0 |
| February | 379 | 1 |
| March | 215 | 20 |
| April | 62 | 112 |
| May | 6 | 329 |
| June | 0 | 565 |
| July | 0 | 601 |
| August | 0 | 555 |
| September | 3 | 358 |
| October | 62 | 114 |
| November | 321 | 6 |
| December | 586 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,206 | 2,662 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023044. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Has El Paso been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 69.0°F, 2.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 66.2°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 67.0°F | +0.8°F | 12.03 | 3.2 |
| 2022 | 66.4°F | +0.2°F | 8.92 | 3.5 |
| 2023 | 69.1°F | +2.9°F | 4.34 | 0.0 |
| 2024 | 69.8°F | +3.6°F | 4.73 | 0.0 |
| 2025 | 69.0°F | +2.8°F | 9.21 | 0.2 |
Over 74 complete years from 1947 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.5°F per century (+0.20°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00023044; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does El Paso's climate compare?
El Paso is warmer than 180 of the other 320 places with their own NOAA record in Texas, and wetter than 2. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 66.2°F is warmer than 90%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, El Paso is BWh: hot desert. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near El Paso share this climate record?
8 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Socorro, TX38,642 people · 14 mi SE
- Horizon City, TX24,802 people · 14 mi SE
- Fort Bliss, TX12,009 people · 2 mi N
- Homestead Meadows South, TX7,687 people · 12 mi E
- Homestead Meadows North, TX5,987 people · 12 mi E
- Sparks, TX4,936 people · 12 mi SE
- Agua Dulce, TX2,995 people · 18 mi SE
- Butterfield, TX236 people · 17 mi E
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do El Paso's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near El Paso. This page uses El Paso International Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso (32 mi ENE) USC00412794 | 24 mi E | 5,240 ft | 61.7°F | 32°F | 93°F | 10.0 | 7 | March 24 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about El Paso's climate
What is the coldest month in El Paso?
December, with a normal high of 58°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is July (96°F by day, 73°F at night).
Does it snow in El Paso?
Yes: 3 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (1.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in El Paso?
August, with 1.67 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.17 in.
What plant hardiness zone is El Paso in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts El Paso in zone 8b across its 20 ZIP code areas (8b in 79934, the largest). By the same method at El Paso's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in El Paso?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 2; in one year in ten it comes after March 19. Waiting until March 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- El Paso in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Texas climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- La Tuna (1 mi S), TX17 miles from this station, 65.1°F a year
- Santa Teresa, NM19 miles from this station, 63.1°F a year
- Tornillo, TX34 miles from this station, 63.7°F a year
- Las Cruces, NM40 miles from this station, 63.2°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made