Climate and average weather in El Dorado

In El Dorado, the summers are muggy, sweltering, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cool and partly cloudy.

Best: mid March to mid May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in El Dorado typically varies from 38°F to 93°F, and is rarely below 25°F or above 101°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit El Dorado for warm-weather activities are from mid March to mid May and late September to late November.

Hottest
Jul
93°
Coldest
Jan
38°
Wettest
Apr
5.7 in
Driest
Aug
2.9 in
Rain / yr
50.9 in
115 wet days
Daylight
9.8–14.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
269 ft
33.2°N
Clearest
Oct
43% cloud

El Dorado is city in and county seat of Union County, Arkansas, United States.

Density
436/km²
people per km²
Founded
1843

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

El Dorado weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around mid March to mid May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in El Dorado, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 4.3 months, from May 20 to September 27, with daily high temperatures above 84°F. The hottest month of the year in El Dorado is July, with an average high of 93°F and low of 74°F.

The cool season lasts 3.1 months, from November 26 to February 26, with daily high temperatures below 63°F. The coldest month of the year in El Dorado is January, with an average low of 38°F and high of 55°F.

Days typically run about 19°F warmer than nights year-round.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan5538
Feb5941
Mar6848
Apr7555
May8364
Jun9071
Jul9374
Aug9373
Sep8867
Oct7756
Nov6546
Dec5740

How hot and cold El Dorado really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, El Dorado feels like about 101°F (around July 17). About 105 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 32°F (around January 15), with roughly 8 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in January.

40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan55553238
Feb59593641
Mar68684548
Apr75755555
May84836464
Jun94907171
Jul100937474
Aug99937373
Sep89886767
Oct77775656
Nov65654246
Dec57573540

Average hourly temperature in El Dorado

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 93°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 38°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

El Dorado weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan55° / 38°4.49.30.310.13.7
Feb59° / 41°4.19.20.510.84.6
Mar68° / 48°5.211.20.111.76.2
Apr75° / 55°5.79.5012.87.0
May83° / 64°4.611.8013.75.6
Jun90° / 71°3.910.8014.23.8
Jul93° / 74°3.410.90143.0
Aug93° / 73°2.99.5013.23.1
Sep88° / 67°3.67.4012.25.0
Oct77° / 56°4.48011.27.3
Nov65° / 46°3.87.9010.36.4
Dec57° / 40°4.99.60.29.84.2

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

El Dorado gets about 50.9 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 3.9 months, from around Apr 19 to Aug 16, peaking in June at about 38% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Sep 29.

April is the wettest month by volume, with 5.7 in over about 10 wet days; August is the driest, with 2.9 in.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJun 28 · 38%Sep 29 · 22%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan309
Feb339
Mar3511
Apr3210
May3712
Jun3711
Jul3511
Aug3110
Sep257
Oct258
Nov268
Dec3110

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, El Dorado collects about 50.9 in of rain across 115 wet days — roughly 4.2 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. April is the wettest month with 5.7 in, while August is the driest at just 2.9 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 31% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec4.44.15.25.74.63.93.42.93.64.43.84.9
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan4.490
Feb4.191
Mar5.2110
Apr5.7100
May4.6120
Jun3.9110
Jul3.4110
Aug2.9100
Sep3.670
Oct4.480
Nov3.880
Dec4.9100

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In El Dorado, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 3 and lasts for 5.3 months, ending around November 10. The clearest month is September, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 68% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 11 and lasts for 6.7 months, ending around June 2. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 55% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecSep 30 · 72%Feb 21 · 42%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4753
Feb4555
Mar4852
Apr5149
May5248
Jun6040
Jul6139
Aug6535
Sep6832
Oct6436
Nov5446
Dec4753

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 12, brings about 14 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 4 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.17:195:21
Feb10.87:025:49
Mar11.76:286:13
Apr12.85:466:36
May13.75:166:58
Jun14.25:057:16
Jul14.05:167:16
Aug13.25:386:52
Sep12.25:596:11
Oct11.26:215:31
Nov10.36:485:04
Dec9.87:125:01

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

El Dorado averages about 12 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 10 and 18 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.4 months, from around Jul 22 to Dec 1. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 15 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is February, down near 10 sunny days — about 35% fewer than the September peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightSep 3018 daysFeb 1810 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr11Mixed
May11Mixed
Jun11Mixed
Jul12Mixed
Aug13Mixed
Sep15Bright
Oct16Bright
Nov13Mixed
Dec12Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In El Dorado, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 5.1 months, from around May 2 to October 4. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 98% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 5 to May 1, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 97% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 21 · 98%Jul 12 · 2%oppressivemuggyhumiddrycomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9163000
Feb8784000
Mar76149100
Apr521918910
May1918213490
Jun261434431
Jul02721663
Aug141429475
Sep16141926241
Oct5117151440
Nov78118300
Dec8775100

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in El Dorado is typically calm, near 6 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.8 months, from around Oct 26 to May 19. The windiest month is April, averaging about 7 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 20 to Oct 25, with August the calmest month at about 5 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeApr 5 · 7 mphAug 13 · 5 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan7calm
Feb7calm
Mar7calm
Apr7calm
May6calm
Jun5calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct6calm
Nov6calm
Dec7calm

Best time to visit El Dorado

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in El Dorado throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around early May, El Dorado is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit El Dorado for general outdoor tourist activities run from mid March to mid May and again from late September to late November, with a peak score in the third week of October.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationOct 18 · 7.5

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan3.8fair
Feb4.7fair
Mar6.2good
Apr6.9good
May5.6good
Jun3.8fair
Jul3.0poor
Aug3.1poor
Sep5.0fair
Oct7.2good
Nov6.4good
Dec4.2fair

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit El Dorado for hot-weather activities run from late April to late June and again from mid August to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 28 · 7.7

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for El Dorado, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 93°F), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 55°F), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, El Dorado sees daytime highs around 93°F and nights near 74°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in El Dorado by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in El Dorado peaks around June 20 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 20 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 11 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highHighModerateJun 20UV 10Dec 20UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb5Moderate
Mar7High
Apr9Very high
May9Very high
Jun10Very high
Jul10Very high
Aug9Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5High
Nov4Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Average hourly UV index in El Dorado

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan20
Feb4.50
Mar62.5
Apr7.55
May85
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.55.5
Aug85
Sep73.5
Oct50
Nov40
Dec00

Air quality in El Dorado by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in El Dorado is worst in July — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.2× the cleanest month (January, 7 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1722 µg/m³Jan 117 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb10Good
Mar11Good
Apr11Good
May15Moderate
Jun19Moderate
Jul23Moderate
Aug19Moderate
Sep14Moderate
Oct9Good
Nov9Good
Dec8Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

El Dorado is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 8 to November 19 (257 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 890%Nov 1990%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan7131
Feb8028
Mar947
Apr990
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct990
Nov919
Dec7731

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. El Dorado banks about 5,931 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb23
Mar240
Apr455
May728
Jun920
Jul1,044
Aug1,027
Sep816
Oct504
Nov169
Dec3

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

El Dorado receives about 4.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.3 and 6.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Mar 21 to Oct 4. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.3 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.4 kWh/m² — roughly 63% less than the July peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 146.4 kWhDec 182.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.6Moderate
Feb3.2Moderate
Mar4.3Bright
Apr5.4Bright
May5.9Bright
Jun6.3Intense
Jul6.3Intense
Aug5.8Bright
Sep5.0Bright
Oct4.0Moderate
Nov2.9Moderate
Dec2.3Moderate

Where is El Dorado?

El Dorado sits at 33.2°N, 92.7°W, 269 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Ruston, 47 mi away.

Topography around El Dorado

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of El Dorado.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around El Dorado has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 180 ft around an average of 243 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 282 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 459 ft.

The land around El Dorado is covered by trees (64%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 2 miles, trees (87%) within 10 miles, and trees (89%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
180 ft
10 miles
282 ft
50 miles
459 ft
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Ruston 47 mi · Monroe 58 mi · Bossier City 78 mi · Shreveport 79 mi · Pine Bluff 80 mi · Texarkana 81 mi · Texarkana 81 mi · Hot Springs 93 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for El Dorado (33.2076°, -92.6663°, elevation 269 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).