The City of Juarez is nestled in a valley on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande River on the border south of El Paso. The climate is like El Paso's climate. It is characterized as moderate with an abundance of sunshine. The sun shines on the city of Juarez 302 days per year or 83% of the daylight hours. Juarez experiences high daytime summer temperatures, very low humidity, scant rainfall, and a relatively cool winter season. March and April dust and sandstorms are the most unpleasant features of the weather. While wind velocities are not excessively high, the soil surface is dry and loose and natural vegetation is sparse, so moderately strong winds can raise considerable dust and sand. The highest precipitation occurs in the months of July, August, and September. Though summer highs are frequently over 90 degrees and occasionally above 100 degrees. Summer highs are usually comfortable with minimum temperatures around the sixties. Showers from July through September help to cool down otherwise hot summer days; however, the average rainfall for the "rainy season" is only 1.41 per month. The total annual rainfall is just over 8 inches. Small amounts of snow fall nearly every winter, but snow cover rarely amounts to more than an inch and seldom remains on the ground for more than a few hours.