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" Albuquerque houses for rent and tons more " Pete Smith
About Albuquerque
Albuquerque's climate is usually sunny and
dry with low amounts of humidity. The sun shines more than 300 days a year. The
city has four distinct seasons, but the heat and the cold are mild compared to
the extremes that can be achieved in other parts of the country. Average winter
daytime highs are in the upper 40s to upper 50s Fahrenheit while dropping into
the mid 20s to mid 30s overnight. The occasional snowfall often melts by the
mid-afternoon. Springtime starts off windy and cool. March and April tend to see
many days with the wind blowing at 20 to 30 mph. In May, the winds tend to
subside, as temperatures start to feel like summer. Summer daytime highs are
normally in the upper 80s to mid 90's while dropping into the mid 60s to low 70s
overnight. The heat is quite tolerable because of low humidity. Fall sees mild
days and cool nights. [5]The Sandia
Mountains - named for the watermelon red the mountains turn at dusk - are the
predominant geographical feature visible in Albuquerque. The mountains create a
rain shadow, and the city receives very little rain: only averaging 8-9 inches
(216 mm) of precipitation a year, most of which occurs during the summer
monsoonal season that typically starts in July and usually ends in
mid-September. 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 Albuquerque 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. This is what causes most of the rain
in the Albuquerque area. The clouds as well as the mountains often turn
spectacular colors in the evening.
According to the United States Census
Bureau, the city has a total area of 469.5 km (181.3 mi˛). 467.9 km˛ (180.6 mi˛)
of it is land and 1.7 km˛ (0.6 mi˛) of it (0.35%) is water. The metro area has
over 1,000 square miles developed, and is expanding at a serious pace.
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