Silver City has some of the most congenial weather in the country; as the Chamber of Commerce puts it: "Four Gentle Seasons."

Winters are fairly mild. Usually there are only one or two snowfalls, and once the sun comes back out, the snow is usually gone-- it doesn't melt, it evaporates. Plenty of snowbirds (the human kind) from the upper Midwest come here to "winter over."

Summers are warm, but nowhere near as oppressively hot as Tucson, Phoenix or Las Cruces. In fact, many residents of those towns come here on weekends to cool off. Most homes and public places use evaporative cooling (swamp coolers), though refrigeration (air conditioning) is common as well.

The so-called monsoon season typically starts in early July, bringing afternoon thunderstorms and possible flash floods. However, the last several years (except for 2006) have been ones of drought, so any rain at any time is welcome.

Dry is the word here. At certain times of year, the daytime relative humidity will routinely be in the single digits. However, the humidity increases at night when things begin to cool down.

Since the climate is basically that of a desert, visitors should bring clothing that can be layered-- while it may be warm or hot during the day, it will get plenty cool or even cold at night.

Among common-sense clothing choices for any time of year are hats, sturdy shoes, and jackets or sweaters... and water bottles are useful fashion accessories.

Silver City is less prone to blizzards, floods, mudslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes than most of the U.S. The one so-called natural disaster locals do fear is fire-- and the danger is taken seriously, so be sure to be aware of any fire restrictions and warnings that may be in place while you are here and follow them accordingly.