Elko, Nevada climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Elko's normal year runs from 15°F December nights to 92°F July afternoons, with 10.0 inches of precipitation and 41 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.8°C, December lows of −9°C, July highs of 33°C, 254 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationElko Regional Airport
- Station IDUSW00024121
- Location40.83°N 115.79°W
- Elevation5,030 ft (1,533 m)
- Population20,822
On October 14, the normal high in Elko is 66°F and the normal low 30°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 16%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Elko.
- Jan 38° 16°
- Feb 43° 21°
- Mar 53° 27°
- Apr 60° 32°
- May 70° 39°
- Jun 82° 45°
- Jul 92° 52°
- Aug 90° 49°
- Sep 80° 41°
- Oct 66° 29°
- Nov 50° 22°
- Dec 38° 15°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Elko each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 92°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 15°F. The most precipitation falls in May (1.22 in), the least in August (0.33 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 16°F | 27.0°F | 1.19 | 10.4 | 9 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 43°F | 21°F | 31.6°F | 0.89 | 6.8 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 53°F | 27°F | 39.9°F | 0.97 | 5.5 | 8 | <1 | 26 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 32°F | 45.6°F | 1.05 | 3.3 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 13 h 20 min |
| May | 70°F | 39°F | 54.2°F | 1.22 | 0.4 | 9 | <1 | 7 | 14 h 30 min |
| June | 82°F | 45°F | 63.2°F | 0.57 | 0.0 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 15 h 10 min |
| July | 92°F | 52°F | 71.9°F | 0.36 | 0.0 | 3 | 21 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 90°F | 49°F | 69.6°F | 0.33 | 0.0 | 3 | 18 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 80°F | 41°F | 60.3°F | 0.59 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 29°F | 47.4°F | 0.74 | 0.5 | 5 | <1 | 22 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 50°F | 22°F | 35.9°F | 0.88 | 4.1 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 10 h |
| December | 38°F | 15°F | 26.7°F | 1.20 | 10.2 | 9 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 32°F | 47.8°F | 9.99 | 41.2 | 79 | 48 | 195 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −9°C | −2.8°C | 30 mm | 26 cm |
| February | 6°C | −6°C | −0.2°C | 23 mm | 17 cm |
| March | 12°C | −3°C | 4.4°C | 25 mm | 14 cm |
| April | 15°C | 0°C | 7.6°C | 27 mm | 8 cm |
| May | 21°C | 4°C | 12.3°C | 31 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 28°C | 7°C | 17.3°C | 14 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 33°C | 11°C | 22.2°C | 9 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 32°C | 10°C | 20.9°C | 8 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 5°C | 15.7°C | 15 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | −1°C | 8.6°C | 19 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 10°C | −6°C | 2.2°C | 22 mm | 10 cm |
| December | 3°C | −9°C | −2.9°C | 30 mm | 26 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024121; 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.
When is the best weather to visit Elko?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USW00024121.
When is the last frost in Elko?
In Elko, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 29 in half of years and after June 16 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 18 in half of years and before September 3 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
- May 291 year in 10 after June 16; 9 in 10 after May 10
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 181 year in 10 before September 3; 9 in 10 before October 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 111 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 139 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 11 in half of springs and before September 29 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elko in zone 5b in ZIP code 89815, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Elko's NOAA station is in zone 6a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (30 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 USW00024121; 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 in Elko?
In a normal year in Elko, 48 days a year reach 90°F (3 of them 100°F or more), 195 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 79 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 48a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 3a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 195a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 24high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 79a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in Elko's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1890) is 107°F, on July 24, 1890; the lowest is −43°F, on January 21, 1937.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 18.34 in; the snowiest season is 1931–32, with 79.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00024121; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record EKOthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Elko, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 34°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 35°F; the driest air comes in December (16°F). April is the windiest month (6.8 mph on average), and May has the most clear or nearly clear hours (73%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 19°F | 72% | 53% | 4.8 mph | – | – |
| February | 22°F | 64% | 43% | 5.9 mph | – | – |
| March | 24°F | 52% | 30% | 6.7 mph | – | – |
| April | 28°F | 47% | 26% | 6.8 mph | 65% | 16% |
| May | 34°F | 42% | 22% | 6.4 mph | 73% | 11% |
| June | 34°F | 30% | 14% | 6.1 mph | – | – |
| July | 35°F | 28% | 13% | 5.6 mph | – | – |
| August | 32°F | 31% | 14% | 5.3 mph | – | – |
| September | 27°F | 39% | 18% | 4.9 mph | – | – |
| October | 23°F | 52% | 28% | 4.7 mph | – | – |
| November | 18°F | 67% | 46% | 4.8 mph | – | – |
| December | 16°F | 73% | 57% | 4.8 mph | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00024121. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Elko?
Over a year 80% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Elko, 4.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (89%) and December the cloudiest (65%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.2 |
| February | 72% | 3.1 |
| March | 72% | 4.3 |
| April | 73% | 5.5 |
| May | 78% | 6.7 |
| June | 87% | 7.9 |
| July | 88% | 7.5 |
| August | 89% | 6.8 |
| September | 88% | 5.6 |
| October | 84% | 4.0 |
| November | 75% | 2.5 |
| December | 65% | 1.8 |
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 much heating and cooling does Elko need?
A normal year in Elko brings 6,744 heating degree days, 26% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 495 cooling degree days, 45% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,290 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,180 | 0 |
| February | 934 | 0 |
| March | 777 | 0 |
| April | 584 | 0 |
| May | 340 | 6 |
| June | 117 | 63 |
| July | 14 | 227 |
| August | 24 | 167 |
| September | 173 | 31 |
| October | 545 | 1 |
| November | 873 | 0 |
| December | 1,187 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,744 | 495 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024121. 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.
Has Elko been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 50.7°F, 2.9°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.8°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49.8°F | +2.0°F | 10.41 | 41.7 |
| 2022 | 47.6°F | −0.2°F | 9.58 | 47.1 |
| 2023 | 47.1°F | −0.7°F | 11.70 | 46.1 |
| 2024 | 50.1°F | +2.3°F | 10.71 | 34.9 |
| 2025 | 50.7°F | +2.9°F | 8.41 | 15.1 |
Over 112 complete years from 1893 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.6°F per century (+0.15°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00024121; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Elko's climate compare?
Elko is warmer than 13 of the other 54 places with their own NOAA record in Nevada, and wetter than 39. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.8°F is warmer than 31%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Elko is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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.
Which places near Elko share this climate record?
Carlin has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Carlin, NV2,000 people · 18 mi SW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Elko's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Elko. This page uses Elko Regional Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elko NWS Office USC00262570 | 3 mi NE | 5,235 ft | 47.5°F | 16°F | 92°F | 10.6 | 39 | May 26 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Elko's climate
What is the coldest month in Elko?
December, with a normal high of 38°F and a normal low of 15°F. The warmest is July (92°F by day, 52°F at night).
Does it snow in Elko?
Yes: 41 inches in a normal year, falling on 34 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (10.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Elko?
May, with 1.22 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.33 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Elko in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Elko in zone 5b in ZIP code 89815, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Elko's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −10°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 6a.
How late can frost come in Elko?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 29; in one year in ten it comes after June 16. Waiting until June 16 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Elko in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Nevada climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- South Fork State Rec Area, NV11 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Ryndon, NV14 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Lamoille, NV17 miles from this station, 41.8°F a year
- Jiggs (2 mi NE), NV27 miles from this station, 46.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made