Blythe, California Thomas Blythe, the San Francisco developer and financier, is the namesake of the city of Blythe, California. He first came to the Palo Verde Valley in 1877, and established primary water rights on the Colorado River. The city was incorporated on July 21, 1916.
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Located in the Lower Colorado Valley of the Sonoran Desert, the region consists of sandy or gravely plains, low mountains, sand dunes and alkali sinks. Drainage channels, known as washes, store water to support trees and large shrubs along their banks.
Agriculturally based and heavily impacted by two state prisons and tourism, Blythe has a population of 21,500, and the general area about 30,300. The population more than triples during the winter months, with the arrival of Snowbirds, visitors seeking relief from cold climate in other parts of the country and Canada. The Colorado River Recreation Area extends from Yuma, Arizona, to Lake Powell, a distance of about 650 miles. The area offers boating, fishing, hunting and other water sports. There are almost 95 miles of navigable water between Blythe and Imperial Dam in Yuma The Climate
Blythe's climate is warm, with sunshine 360 days a year. The chart below from the NOAA-CIRES Climate Diagnostics Center shows mean high and low temperatures and precipitation for Blythe. Actual temperatures can range from a low of 20 F to a high of 122 F. A summer low temperature in the low 100s would not be considered unexpected. The average annual rainfall is 3.96 inches. The rainy season comes during the summer monsoon, which peaks during August and September. An unusual amount of rain comes periodically during an El Niņo weather pattern, which can more than double the years rainfall. Snowfall occurrs about twice a century. Air pollution, except from agricultural burning, has yet to find its way to Blythe and fifty-mile visibility is common. On some days, the peak of Mt. San Jacinto, towering over Palm Springs, can be seen 130 miles to the west. Weather Statistics |
