Geography and Weather
Paris is located at 33°39′45″N 95°32′52″W / 33.6625°N 95.54778°W / 33.6625; -95.54778 (33.662508, −95.547692).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.4 square miles (115 km2), of which, 42.8 square miles (111 km2) of it is land and 1.7 square miles (4.4 km2) of it (3.74%) is water.
Paris is located in "Tornado Alley", an area largely centered on the middle of the United States which sees tornadoes frequently. Paris is in USDA plant hardiness zone 7b for winter temperatures. This is cooler than its southern neighbor Dallas, Texas, and while similar to Atlanta, Georgia, it has warmer summertime temperatures. Summertime average highs reach 94 f and 95 °F (35 °C) in July and August, with associated lows of 72 and 71. Winter temperatures drop to an average high of 51 and low of 30 in January. The highest temperature on record was 115, set in August 1936, and the record low was −5, set in 1930. Average precipitation is 47.82 inches (1,215 mm). Snow is not unusual, but is by no means predictable, and years can pass with no snowfall at all.
On April 2, 1982, Paris was hit by an F4 tornado that destroyed more than 1,500 homes, left ten people dead, 170 injured and 3,000 homeless. The damage toll from this tornado was estimated at 50 million USD in 1982.
| Climate data for Paris, Texas | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °F (°C) | 51 (11) |
56 (13) |
65 (18) |
75 (24) |
82 (28) |
89 (32) |
94 (34) |
94 (34) |
87 (31) |
77 (25) |
65 (18) |
54 (12) |
74 (23) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 30 (−1) |
34 (1) |
44 (7) |
53 (12) |
61 (16) |
69 (21) |
73 (23) |
72 (22) |
65 (18) |
53 (12) |
43 (6) |
33 (1) |
52 (11) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 2.2 (56) |
3.2 (81) |
4.2 (107) |
4 (102) |
5.9 (150) |
3.9 (99) |
3.6 (91) |
2.7 (69) |
4.8 (122) |
4.6 (117) |
3.9 (99) |
3.3 (84) |
46.1 (1,171) |
| Source: | |||||||||||||
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