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El Centro, California climate
BWh Hot desert
El Centro has a seasonal warm-temperate climate (Hot desert, Köppen BWh). The hottest month is August with an average daily high near 42°C, while the coldest is December averaging around 6°C at night. Precipitation totals about 64 mm a year and is strongly seasonal — February alone averages 11 mm while June barely receives 0 mm.
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresClear vs cloudy days
Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day countsEl Centro climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 22 | 23 | 27 | 30 | 34 | 39 | 42 | 42 | 39 | 33 | 26 | 21 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 14 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 26 | 30 | 34 | 34 | 31 | 25 | 18 | 13 |
| Avg low (°C) | 6 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 23 | 17 | 10 | 6 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 10 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 22 | 23 | 27 | 30 | 34 | 39 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 14 | 16 | 19 | 22 | 26 | 30 |
| Avg low (°C) | 6 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 22 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 10 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 42 | 42 | 39 | 33 | 26 | 21 |
| Avg temp (°C) | 34 | 34 | 31 | 25 | 18 | 13 |
| Avg low (°C) | 26 | 26 | 23 | 17 | 10 | 6 |
| Precipitation (mm) | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | 3 | 10 | 20 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 18 | 2 | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 0.4 | 0.1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.5 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | — | — | 3 | 10 | 20 | 28 |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | 0.4 | 0.1 | — | — | — | — |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 0.6 | 1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 2 |
| Days with high ≥ 32°C (days) | 28 | 30 | 28 | 18 | 2 | — |
| Days with low ≤ 0°C (days) | — | — | — | — | — | 0.5 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 39 | 39 | 32 | 26 | 23 | 17 | 28 | 26 | 23 | 23 | 32 | 39 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 15 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 26 | 21 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 18 | 15 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 47 | 47 | 44 | 39 | 35 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 31 | 34 | 38 | 45 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 4.5 | 4.9 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 7.5 | 7.4 | 6.6 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 4.5 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 39 | 39 | 32 | 26 | 23 | 17 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 15 | 14 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 26 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 10 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 3 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 47 | 47 | 44 | 39 | 35 | 28 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 4.5 | 4.9 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 7.5 | 7.4 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 28 | 26 | 23 | 23 | 32 | 39 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 21 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 18 | 15 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 8 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 28 | 29 | 31 | 34 | 38 | 45 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 6.6 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 4.5 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at EL Centro 2 Ssw (NOAA GHCN station USC00042713), about 3 km from the city centre.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.