While the dreams of precious metal never panned out, the state is renowned for its golden sunlight. Tourism promoters brag about the percentage of sunny days in the Land of Enchantment, second only to Arizona, according to data from the Commerce Department and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In a USA Today weather ranking, Albuquerque's 76-percent sunshine helped it break through as one of the nation's 10 sunniest cities. Though only larger cities were included, Las Cruces' neighbor, El Paso, Texas, racked up 83-percent annual sunshine for fifth place. Should someone ask, he can tell them, right down to the minute.
Readings taken once per minute provide a rough measure of surface solar radiation.
Even with quite a bit of high cloudiness there's enough sunlight to cast a shadow. At day's end, meteorologists tally the minutes as a percentage of possible sunshine. Measurements taken over the last 30 years show that Las Cruces and south-central New Mexico have 84 percent of possible annual sunshine. Soil temperature is key for optimum planting. Sunshine promotes germination and strengthens tender seedlings.