Are Texas Heatwave Record Temperatures Really ‘Melting’ El Paso Street Signs?

Have you heard? It has been so hot in El Paso, street signs are melting.

It’s a straight up fact we’ve suffered through record-breaking heat for over a month-and-a-half now and counting, but has it really been hot enough to melt the lettering on street signs?

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Fact or Fiction: Street Signs Melting Away

A social media post published on a recent afternoon when the thermometer peaked at 106 degrees claimed it was so hot in “Hell Paso” that “street signs' letters [were] melting.” It was accompanied by several photos of street signs in Central El Paso that did indeed have that wax candle melting appearance.

Although I was pretty sure the original poster didn’t really believe the street signs were liquefying and that it was intended as a joke, I did a little digging to calm down the heat hysteria of those who maybe didn’t get the tongue-in-cheek humor.

Are Street Signs Really Dissolving?

A quick check on Google Street shows the signs referenced have been deteriorating over the last few years with the “melting” appearance beginning to show up around 2018 -2019.

So, no, the lettering on the street signs isn’t melting from the current blistering heatwave. Most likely it is a combination of time, the elements, and maybe cheap material and poor workmanship.

And to further put the sizzling speculation to rest that the daily baking is dissolving the lettering on El Paso street signs, one of the local news stations reached out to the city and was told it's simply “ordinary wear and tear,” and that many of the street signs in that part of town are scheduled to be replaced sometime this fall.