Editing El Centro, California (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Salton Sea from Space.jpg|thumb|right|150px|The [[Imperial Valley]], as seen from the [[Space Shuttle]]. North is to the upper right. The Salton Sea is at the center. The [[US-Mexican border]] is a diagonal in the lower left.]]
[[File:SaltonSeaArielFromSouth.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Imperial Valley and Salton Sea.]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|11.1|sqmi|km2}}, of which over 99% is land.

El Centro is located in the [[Imperial Valley]] (considered locally as synonymous with [[Imperial County, California|Imperial County]]). The city is {{convert|50|ft|m}} below sea level and the largest city in the United States below sea level. The Imperial Valley is in the [[Colorado Desert]], an extension of the larger [[Sonoran Desert]].

The agriculture industry's demand for water is supplied by canals diverting water from the nearby [[Colorado River]]. The [[Salton Sea]] was created after a 1905 flood from the Colorado River.<ref name="saltonseaflood">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sunsetcities.com/hoover-dam/hoover-dam-history-1.html|title=An Unbelievable Man-Made Disaster That Almost Could Not Be Undone|access-date=August 3, 2009|archive-date=August 9, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809113723/http://www.sunsetcities.com/hoover-dam/hoover-dam-history-1.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[1940 El Centro earthquake|El Centro earthquake of 1940]] had a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. It was the first major earthquake to be recorded by a strong-motion seismograph located next to a fault rupture. It was intensely studied by structural engineers and assumed to be typical until the [[1994 Northridge earthquake|Northridge earthquake of 1994]]. In this region, the geology is dominated by the transition of the [[tectonic plate]] boundary from [[rift]] to [[fault (geology)|transverse fault]]. The southernmost strands of the [[San Andreas Fault]] connect the northernmost extensions of the [[East Pacific Rise]]. Consequently, the region is subject to earthquakes, and the crust is being stretched, resulting in a sinking of the terrain over time.

===Climate===
El Centro has a [[hot desert climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''BWh'')  and is the southernmost desert city below sea level in the continental United States. It features long, extremely hot summers, and mild winters. El Centro has over 350 days of sunshine and under {{convert|3|in|mm}} of rain annually. Winter temperatures are in the mid to high 60s °F (mid to high teens °C) with over-night lows in the low 40s °F (mid +0s °C) . During summer days of June; typically the driest month of the year with no precipitation, the dry, desert heat can push temperatures well above {{convert|100|F|C|1}}, while the nights stay in the high 70s °F (high 20s °C).

The [[North American Monsoon]] typically increases moisture. At times, the climate can resemble that of tropical areas in the Caribbean due to [[Gulf of California moisture surge]]s. Humid air from the gulf surges northward into the Imperial Valley and El Centro area, making the summer heat oppressive at times. This leads to daily thunderstorms that can bring hail, downpours, lightning, and dust storms, more commonly known as [[Haboob]].

During the Eastern Pacific Hurricane season, remnants of hurricanes or tropical storms may track through the desert and can result in heavy thunderstorms. This can lead to significantly higher than normal precipitation, at times bringing heavy rain. A few examples of this are [[Hurricane Hilary|Hurricane Hilary (2023)]] and [[Hurricane Nora (1997)]]

The precipitation in the winter months is predominantly rain showers from the occasional winter storms. At times these storms bring cold temperatures to El Centro and surrounding cities, and mountain snowfall to the nearby Mountains. [[El Niño]] and [[La Niña]] play a large role in how much rain falls in the winter, La Nina typically brings drier and cooler conditions to El Centro and surrounding areas. El Niño tends to being wetter and average temperatures.

Snow is almost totally unknown in the area. However, on December 12, 1934, a very powerful winter storm brought record cold and snowfall to El Centro and surrounding areas of the [[Imperial Valley, California|Imperial Valley]]. Snow began falling at 8:45&nbsp;p.m. December 11 and by 5 a.m. the next day (December 12) {{convert|1|to|4|in|m|sigfig=2|disp=or}} of snow had blanketed the desert floor.

Another instance of freezing precipitation was observed in December 1967 as a mix of sleet hail. On average there are about 15 days that dip  below {{convert|40|°F|°C|1|disp=or}}.

Being below sea level, El Centro has warm afternoons and cold mornings in winter. The coldest daily maximum on record is {{convert|44|F|C|1}} on December 14, 1967, and the mean for the coldest day is at {{convert|56.1|F|C}} for the reference period between 1991 and 2020.<ref name=NOWData/> The warmest low temperature on record is {{convert|98|F|C|1}}, recorded on August 30, 1976.<ref name=NOWData/> The mean for the hottest night annually is at {{convert|87.2|F|C}}.<ref name=NOWData/> The wettest "rain year" was from July 1977 to June 1978 with {{convert|7.19|in|mm|1|disp=or}} and the driest from July 2001 to June 2002 with {{convert|0.02|in|mm|1|disp=or}}

{{Weather box
| width = auto
| location = El Centro, California, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1932–present
| single line = Y
| Jan record high F = 90
| Feb record high F = 94
| Mar record high F = 102
| Apr record high F = 109
| May record high F = 116
| Jun record high F = 121
| Jul record high F = 122
| Aug record high F = 122
| Sep record high F = 120
| Oct record high F = 113
| Nov record high F = 98
| Dec record high F = 95
| year record high F = 122
| Jan avg record high F = 80.1
| Feb avg record high F = 83.7
| Mar avg record high F = 91.9
| Apr avg record high F = 98.9
| May avg record high F = 104.7
| Jun avg record high F = 111.8
| Jul avg record high F = 115.0
| Aug avg record high F = 114.2
| Sep avg record high F = 110.6
| Oct avg record high F = 102.6
| Nov avg record high F = 90.8
| Dec avg record high F = 79.6
| year avg record high F = 116.4
| Jan high F = 71.0
| Feb high F = 74.0
| Mar high F = 80.3
| Apr high F = 86.4
| May high F = 93.8
| Jun high F = 102.9
| Jul high F = 106.9
| Aug high F = 106.7
| Sep high F = 102.2
| Oct high F = 91.7
| Nov high F = 79.2
| Dec high F = 69.6
| year high F = 88.7
| Jan mean F = 57.2
| Feb mean F = 60.3
| Mar mean F = 65.9
| Apr mean F = 71.5
| May mean F = 78.6
| Jun mean F = 86.8
| Jul mean F = 92.5
| Aug mean F = 93.0
| Sep mean F = 87.6
| Oct mean F = 76.7
| Nov mean F = 64.9
| Dec mean F = 56.2
| year mean F = 74.3
| Jan low F = 43.4
| Feb low F = 46.7
| Mar low F = 51.6
| Apr low F = 56.7
| May low F = 63.3
| Jun low F = 70.7
| Jul low F = 78.0
| Aug low F = 79.3
| Sep low F = 73.0
| Oct low F = 61.7
| Nov low F = 50.7
| Dec low F = 42.8
| year low F = 59.8
| Jan avg record low F = 34.5
| Feb avg record low F = 37.6
| Mar avg record low F = 41.9
| Apr avg record low F = 47.7
| May avg record low F = 53.7
| Jun avg record low F = 61.4
| Jul avg record low F = 70.2
| Aug avg record low F = 70.1
| Sep avg record low F = 63.4
| Oct avg record low F = 51.1
| Nov avg record low F = 40.2
| Dec avg record low F = 33.6
| year avg record low F = 32.2
| Jan record low F = 14
| Feb record low F = 22
| Mar record low F = 21
| Apr record low F = 33
| May record low F = 36
| Jun record low F = 42
| Jul record low F = 52
| Aug record low F = 54
| Sep record low F = 48
| Oct record low F = 33
| Nov record low F = 24
| Dec record low F = 22
| year record low F = 14
| Jan precipitation inch = 0.39
| Feb precipitation inch = 0.43
| Mar precipitation inch = 0.29
| Apr precipitation inch = 0.07
| May precipitation inch = 0.04
| Jun precipitation inch = 0.00
| Jul precipitation inch = 0.08
| Aug precipitation inch = 0.23
| Sep precipitation inch = 0.25
| Oct precipitation inch = 0.21
| Nov precipitation inch = 0.17
| Dec precipitation inch = 0.37
| year precipitation inch = 2.53
| precipitation colour = green
| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
| Jan precipitation days = 1.7
| Feb precipitation days = 2.5
| Mar precipitation days = 1.7
| Apr precipitation days = 0.6
| May precipitation days = 0.3
| Jun precipitation days = 0.1
| Jul precipitation days = 0.6
| Aug precipitation days = 1.1
| Sep precipitation days = 0.9
| Oct precipitation days = 0.7
| Nov precipitation days = 0.9
| Dec precipitation days = 1.9
| year precipitation days = 13.0
|Jan sun = 245.2 |Jan percentsun = 79
|Feb sun = 246.7 |Feb percentsun = 81
|Mar sun = 314.6 |Mar percentsun = 85
|Apr sun = 346.1 |Apr percentsun = 88
|May sun = 388.1 |May percentsun = 89
|Jun sun = 400.7 |Jun percentsun = 92
|Jul sun = 390.9 |Jul percentsun = 88
|Aug sun = 368.5 |Aug percentsun = 88
|Sep sun = 337.1 |Sep percentsun = 87
|Oct sun = 304.4 |Oct percentsun = 85
|Nov sun = 246.0 |Nov percentsun = 80
|Dec sun = 236.0 |Dec percentsun = 78
|year percentsun = 86
|humidity colour =
|Jan humidity = 45.1
|Feb humidity = 39.6
|Mar humidity = 33.1
|Apr humidity = 25.0
|May humidity = 21.3
|Jun humidity = 16.5
|Jul humidity = 21.1
|Aug humidity = 25.6
|Sep humidity = 25.0
|Oct humidity = 28.8
|Nov humidity = 37.2
|Dec humidity = 45.0
|year humidity =30.3
| source 1 = <ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=psr |title=NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data|publisher= NOAA|access-date=March 9, 2016}}</ref>
| date     = March 2016}}
| source 1 = NOAA<ref name = NOAA>{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00042713&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: El Centro 2 SSW, CA
|access-date = March 26, 2023
|archive-date = March 26, 2023
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230326203846/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00042713&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL
|url-status = live
}}</ref>
| source 2 = National Weather Service<ref name = NOWData>{{cite web
|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=psr
|publisher = National Weather Service
|title = NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Phoenix
|access-date = March 26, 2023
|archive-date = July 7, 2022
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220707085315/https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=psr
|url-status = live
}}</ref>
| source = 
}}