Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Desert National Wildlife Refuge's normal year runs from 30°F December nights to 101°F July afternoons, with 4.6 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.3 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 16.9°C, December lows of −1°C, July highs of 38°C, 117 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDesert National Wildlife Refuge
- Station IDUSC00262243
- Location36.44°N 115.36°W
- Elevation2,914 ft (888 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Desert National Wildlife Refuge is 76°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 5%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Desert National Wildlife Refuge.
- Jan 57° 31°
- Feb 61° 34°
- Mar 68° 39°
- Apr 76° 45°
- May 85° 53°
- Jun 96° 61°
- Jul 101° 68°
- Aug 100° 66°
- Sep 92° 58°
- Oct 79° 46°
- Nov 66° 36°
- Dec 56° 30°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Desert National Wildlife Refuge each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 101°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 30°F. The most precipitation falls in February (0.80 in), the least in June (0.08 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57°F | 31°F | 43.8°F | 0.58 | 3 | <1 | 18 | 10 h |
| February | 61°F | 34°F | 47.0°F | 0.80 | 4 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 68°F | 39°F | 53.6°F | 0.62 | 3 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 76°F | 45°F | 60.0°F | 0.25 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 85°F | 53°F | 69.1°F | 0.17 | 1 | 13 | <1 | 14 h |
| June | 96°F | 61°F | 78.5°F | 0.08 | 1 | 26 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 101°F | 68°F | 84.4°F | 0.46 | 3 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 100°F | 66°F | 82.8°F | 0.28 | 2 | 30 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 92°F | 58°F | 75.0°F | 0.26 | 1 | 23 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 79°F | 46°F | 62.6°F | 0.40 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 66°F | 36°F | 50.8°F | 0.27 | 1 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 56°F | 30°F | 42.8°F | 0.44 | 2 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 78°F | 47°F | 62.5°F | 4.61 | 24 | 128 | 60 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°C | −1°C | 6.6°C | 15 mm |
| February | 16°C | 1°C | 8.3°C | 20 mm |
| March | 20°C | 4°C | 12.0°C | 16 mm |
| April | 24°C | 7°C | 15.6°C | 6 mm |
| May | 30°C | 12°C | 20.6°C | 4 mm |
| June | 36°C | 16°C | 25.8°C | 2 mm |
| July | 38°C | 20°C | 29.1°C | 12 mm |
| August | 38°C | 19°C | 28.2°C | 7 mm |
| September | 33°C | 15°C | 23.9°C | 7 mm |
| October | 26°C | 8°C | 17.0°C | 10 mm |
| November | 19°C | 2°C | 10.4°C | 7 mm |
| December | 13°C | −1°C | 6.0°C | 11 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00262243; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
Which months are mildest at Desert National Wildlife Refuge?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, October and November. Of those, November has the fewest days with rain (1).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00262243.
When is the last frost at Desert National Wildlife Refuge?
In Desert National Wildlife Refuge, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 22 in half of years and after April 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 7 in half of years and before October 21 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- March 221 year in 10 after April 13; 9 in 10 after February 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 71 year in 10 before October 21; 9 in 10 before November 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 229 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 264 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 1 in half of springs and before November 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Desert National Wildlife Refuge in zone 9a in ZIP code 89143, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (21 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Nevada · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00262243; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get at Desert National Wildlife Refuge?
In a normal year in Desert National Wildlife Refuge, 128 days a year reach 90°F (61 of them 100°F or more), 60 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 24 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 128a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 61a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 60a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 24a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1940) is 116°F, on July 6, 2007; the lowest is 0°F, on January 3, 1974.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2023, with 8.77 in; the snowiest season is 1973–74, with 13.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00262243; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00262243. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Desert National Wildlife Refuge?
Over a year 90% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Desert National Wildlife Refuge, 5.6 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (95%) and December the cloudiest (82%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 84% | 3.0 |
| February | 83% | 4.0 |
| March | 87% | 5.5 |
| April | 89% | 6.9 |
| May | 91% | 7.8 |
| June | 95% | 8.5 |
| July | 90% | 7.6 |
| August | 92% | 7.1 |
| September | 94% | 6.2 |
| October | 91% | 4.7 |
| November | 88% | 3.4 |
| December | 82% | 2.7 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How many heating and cooling degree days does Desert National Wildlife Refuge record?
A normal year at Desert National Wildlife Refuge brings 2,983 heating degree days, 44% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,115 cooling degree days, 2.3 times the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,272 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 657 | 0 |
| February | 503 | 0 |
| March | 357 | 2 |
| April | 172 | 24 |
| May | 44 | 171 |
| June | 3 | 408 |
| July | 0 | 601 |
| August | 0 | 550 |
| September | 6 | 307 |
| October | 126 | 51 |
| November | 428 | 1 |
| December | 688 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,983 | 2,115 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00262243. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Have recent years at Desert National Wildlife Refuge been warmer than normal?
2023 averaged 62.1°F, 0.4°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 62.5°F. 2 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64.3°F | +1.8°F | 4.48 |
| 2022 | 63.9°F | +1.4°F | 2.79 |
| 2023 | 62.1°F | −0.4°F | 8.77 |
Over 41 complete years from 1941 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.7°F per century (+0.26°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00262243; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Desert National Wildlife Refuge's climate compare?
Desert National Wildlife Refuge is warmer than 48 of the 55 places with their own NOAA record in Nevada, and wetter than 4. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 62.5°F is warmer than 81%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Desert National Wildlife Refuge is BWk: cold desert. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Questions about Desert National Wildlife Refuge's climate
What is the coldest month at Desert National Wildlife Refuge?
December, with a normal high of 56°F and a normal low of 30°F. The warmest is July (101°F by day, 68°F at night).
Does it snow at Desert National Wildlife Refuge?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.3 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month at Desert National Wildlife Refuge?
February, with 0.80 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.08 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Desert National Wildlife Refuge in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Desert National Wildlife Refuge in zone 9a in ZIP code 89143, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come at Desert National Wildlife Refuge?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 22; in one year in ten it comes after April 13. Waiting until April 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nevada climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Las Vegas Air Terminal, NV18 miles from this station, 68.8°F a year
- North Las Vegas, NV19 miles from this station, 69.7°F a year
- Mount Charleston, NV20 miles from this station, 47.0°F a year
- Red Rock Canyon - Spring Mount Ranch S, NV26 miles from this station, 61.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made