Haboobs And 2 Other Things You’ll See Every Summer In El Paso

There is nothing like a summer in El Paso. We have a dry heat so you don't get out of the shower only to step outside and be drenched in sweat from the humidity like you would be if you lived anywhere east of here. You can be relatively cool and comfortable as long as you are somewhere that has some shade and you've got something cool to drink. A quick dip in a backyard pool will cool you off instantly and the nights, even though the temperatures will stay in the 80s, feel a lot cooler than the actual number on the thermometer.

But even though we don't have to deal with 90% humidity like they do in Austin and every other east Texas city, there are some things that happen in El Paso that make summers

1. Haboobs - No, haboobs don't have anything to do with, well, you know. It's a huge dust storm that rolls in and makes a huge mess. It might just bring in a ton of dirt but sometimes it's followed by just enough rain to turn a lot of that dust into mud on your car. If you want to see how crazy our weather can get during haboobs check this out:

2. Parasols - You might think that parasols went out with the horse and buggy but little old ladies in El know that parasols are exactly what their names imply - they are for the sun. Umbrellas are to keep the rain off of you but in El Paso we need to keep the sun off of us more often so when the sun is out you'll hear little old ladies asking for their parasol to keep them nice and cool as they hang out in the summer sun. The person who took this picture knew what they were doing.

3. Beach towels - We have a lot more beach than we do ocean but you'll see beach towels all over the place in El Paso in the summer. We use them in our cars to keep the sun off the dashboard so the sun won't eat it alive. We use them on our leather upholstery to keep from frying the backs of our legs on the hot car seats, and we use them most often to dry out beasties off after they run through the sprinklers in our backyards or when they've had all the fun they can at one of the city's many spray parks.

Happy Summer!