January in El Paso, TX: shoulder season for golf — playable with smart tee time selection. Best tee times: late morning to early afternoon after dew burns off.
| Average January Weather | |
|---|---|
| Avg daily high | 58°F |
| Avg daily low | 34°F |
| Rainy days | 5 / mo |
| Avg peak wind | 12.3 mph |
Most golfers hear 'El Paso' and expect warm desert sunshine even in winter. January delivers a partial reality check. The average high of 58°F is actually the coldest the city gets all year, and morning lows drop to 34°F — so tee times before 9 AM can feel genuinely cold. That 24°F daily swing is the real story: if you wait for the afternoon, conditions often improve considerably.
The other surprise is precipitation. January ties for the second-wettest month of the year at 5 rainy days, which catches golfers off guard in a desert setting. That said, 5 days spread across a month still leaves plenty of playable windows, and peak wind at 12.3 mph ranks as the 4th calmest of the year. Afternoons with temperatures climbing toward 58°F and manageable winds are legitimate golf days — you just need to dress for the morning cold and check the forecast.
Book afternoon slots — ideally 11 AM to 2 PM — to let the temperature climb away from the 34°F morning low before you tee off. January's 12.3 mph peak wind is relatively mild for El Paso, so afternoon conditions won't punish you on that front either. See how conditions rate hour by hour on our playability scale.
January is 3°F cooler on average than December and adds 2 more precipitation days, making it the toughest month of the short winter stretch. February climbs back to a 63°F high — a meaningful 5°F gain — while keeping the same 5 precipitation days, so the warmth improves without the sky clearing up much. Wind ticks up slightly into February at 13.6 mph versus January's 12.3 mph, so January actually holds a small edge there.
Climate normals show the long-term picture, but day-to-day weather varies. Check today's live golf weather score for El Paso, TX for the current playability rating, hourly wind, temperature, and the recommended tee time window.
← December in El Paso, TX • February in El Paso, TX →
Not if you time it right. The average high is 58°F — the coldest month of the year here — but afternoons can be quite comfortable once the temperature climbs away from the 34°F morning low. Bring layers and aim for midday tee times rather than early starts.
January sees an average of 5 precipitation days, which ties it for the second-wettest month of the year — a fact that surprises most visitors expecting a dry desert winter. In practice, that's roughly one day in six with any precip, so the odds still favor dry conditions on any given day, but it's worth having a flexible backup window in your trip.