Climate - Reno (Nevada)

The climate of Reno is arid continental, with cold winters and hot summers, and with strong temperature variations between night and day.
The city is located in western Nevada, at 1,350 (4,430 feet) meters above sea level, and a short distance from the California border. To the west is the northernmost part of the Sierra Nevada, whose highest peak is Mount Rose, 3,284 meters (10,774 ft) high. Beyond the mountains lies Lake Tahoe. To the north-east is Pyramid lake. South of Reno is Carson City, which has a similar but slightly wetter climate.
We are in the western part of the vast arid plateau of the United States called Great Basin.
The scarce rains are more frequent in winter, while some afternoon thunderstorms can break out in spring and summer.
The wind blows frequently, in spring and autumn due to clashes of air masses, while in the summer, a moderate or strong breeze blows from the mountains.
The average temperature of the coldest month (December) is of 2.3 °C (36 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 25.1 °C (77 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation amounts to 185 millimeters (7.4 inches) per year: it is therefore at a desert level. It ranges from 5 mm (0.2 in) in the driest months (July, August, September) to 30 mm (1.2 in) in the wettest ones (January, December). Here is the average precipitation.

In winter there are long sunny periods, with night frosts, while during the day the temperature rises a lot, and generally exceeds 10 °C (50 °F).
However, from mid-March to mid-November, there can be cold spells in which the temperature drops to -15 °C (5 °F) or even below. In recent decades, the record is -26.5 °C (-16 °F), recorded in February 1989.
On average, 53 centimeters (20,9 in) of snow fall per year. It usually snows from November through March, but sometimes it can snow even in April.

The summer is sunny, although sometimes a thunderstorm can break out. During the day it is very hot, even though the air is dry. In addition, the temperature drops a lot at night.
On the hottest days of the year, the temperature usually reaches 39/40 °C (102/104 °F). The record is 42 °C (107.5 °F), set in July 2002 and July 2007.



On average, there are around 3,645 sunshine hours per year. Therefore, the sun shines very often. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

Best Time

To visit Reno you can choose the month of May and the period from mid-September to mid-October, to avoid the winter cold and the summer heat.