Climate Battle: Albuquerque, NM v. El Paso, TX v. Tucson, AZ (snowfall, hot)
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I am interested in opinions on the climate in three regional Southwest cities - Albuquerque, NM (high desert; high Chihuahuan Desert), El Paso, TX (lower Chihuahuan Desert), and low Sonoran Desert's Tucson, AZ.
These three cities probably share more in common than they do apart, as all three are very arid, dry places with not a great deal of precipitation. All three average between 75% to 90% sunny days. All are multi-seasonal but would be considered on the very mild side for 4-season towns.
In Tucson, summers are very hot (although not Phoenix hot) but winters are terribly mild. In El Paso, slightly cooler but yet still sizzling summers and quite mild winters (not quite as mild as Tucson but close). In Albuquerque, summers are hot yet cooling at night makes temps very pleasant; winters are typically in the 50s during the high of the day but get into the teens and twenties in the evening. Due to the altitude, you are most likely to have a chance to see snow in Albuquerque (although it is still fairly rare).
As sparse as rainfall is in all three towns, all three generate on average their most moisture in the summer months due to the southwestern monsoon.
Here are temps on average of the cities comparatively (all three very pleasant if you ask me):
By the way, my personal vote is for El Paso, TX as personally I find El Paso to have the most pleasant 4-season climate in the US. The summers bake but are still not horrendous due to the dryness and the altitude of the city; nights are often very pleasant in El Paso summer months due to the cooling effects of the high desert. El Paso winters are heaven to me...about 5 to 6 inches of rapidly melting snowfall, very warm average daytimes and some mild winter-esque temps overnight...you experience all 4 seasons in El Paso but all are rather mild.
I actually would have to flip a coin between Albuquerque and Tucson. As a warm weather fan, I prefer Tucson in the winter however Albuquerque's summers are more pleasant/tolerable due to the high desert (although they still scorch, they are nothing like Tucson's vicious summers).
All-in-all, these are three of my favorite climates of big cities in the entire US. I would be in heaven living in all three climates year-round. However, El Paso wins by a nose for me.
Albuquerque is my favorite since it has the coolest winters out of the three. If I were to choose a Desert SW city or town to live in, it'd probably be somewhere like Flagstaff or maybe even Taos, NM.
Albuquerque, it's a top-tier desert climate. Winter temperatures are roughly in my sweet spot. Summers are sunny and hot, although they're a bit too hot for my liking, they're cooler than the other options.
Albuquerque is my favorite since it has the coolest winters out of the three. If I were to choose a Desert SW city or town to live in, it'd probably be somewhere like Flagstaff or maybe even Taos, NM.
Wow, Flagstaff looks incredible. The scenery ain't bad either!
The lows throughout the year are a bit too cold for my liking, 7 months with freezing lows! But the winter snow looks heavenly.
If I were to choose a Desert SW city or town to live in, it'd probably be somewhere like Flagstaff or maybe even Taos, NM.
Yes, you are a fan of cool weather/winter! Both Flagstaff and Taos are gorgeous areas, however, both get a LOT of snow and cold weather as you know. For me, both were nice getaway options from Albuquerque when the summertimes got a little too scorching, however, winters would be tough for me in either (although still nicer than here in the Milwaukee area due to the sunshine).
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Razza94
Wow, Flagstaff looks incredible. The scenery ain't bad either!
The lows throughout the year are a bit too cold for my liking, 7 months with freezing lows! But the winter snow looks heavenly.
Flagstaff has a normal low temp of +2.8°C today. Their normal low doesn't hit 10°C until July 8th. And their last day with a normal low of 10°C is August 10th. By September 30th, their normal low is back down to 2.8°C again. At night, heat is required year round there.
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