Marsala it is not unusual to experience the effect of Sirocco wind, which brings dust and sand from the Sahara. Winters are generally rainy and cooler with temperatures ranging between minimum of (in December 2014) and . Snowfall occurs very rarely, since the temperature has never dropped below freezing, although snow has fallen before, for example in December 2014. In 397 BC the Phoenician colony of Motya on the southwestern coast of Sicily was invaded and destroyed by the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius I. The survivors founded a town on the mainland nearby, the site of modern-day Marsala, which they called by
Marsala century BC and another in the 3rd century AD. Despite the large rebuilding of the 3rd century, there is not enough evidence to associate this with the 365 Crete earthquake, even though literature and archaeological discoveries elsewhere show that other Sicilian towns, such as Selinunte, "were" affected. The economy of Marsala still depends on the production of wine, although tourism is a growing industry and it too is becoming an important source of income for the city. With its coastline of sand beaches and clear sea, easy access to the nearby Aegadian Islands and the natural beauty of the Saline