Ely, Nevada climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Ely's normal year runs from 12°F December nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 9.4 inches of precipitation and 54 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.8°C, December lows of −11°C, July highs of 32°C, 239 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEly Airport
- Station IDUSW00023154
- Location39.30°N 114.85°W
- Elevation6,262 ft (1,909 m)
- Population3,892
On October 14, the normal high in Ely is 65°F and the normal low 29°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 15%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ely.
- Jan 41° 12°
- Feb 44° 16°
- Mar 52° 23°
- Apr 59° 28°
- May 69° 34°
- Jun 81° 41°
- Jul 89° 49°
- Aug 87° 48°
- Sep 78° 39°
- Oct 65° 28°
- Nov 51° 19°
- Dec 41° 12°
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 Ely each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 12°F. The most precipitation falls in April (1.07 in), the least in June (0.56 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 | 41°F | 12°F | 26.7°F | 0.75 | 10.5 | 7 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 44°F | 16°F | 30.0°F | 0.84 | 9.1 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 52°F | 23°F | 37.7°F | 0.98 | 9.5 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 28°F | 43.2°F | 1.07 | 5.3 | 8 | <1 | 24 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 69°F | 34°F | 51.5°F | 1.05 | 2.0 | 8 | <1 | 14 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 81°F | 41°F | 61.3°F | 0.56 | 0.0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 15 h |
| July | 89°F | 49°F | 69.3°F | 0.63 | 0.0 | 5 | 15 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 87°F | 48°F | 67.5°F | 0.79 | 0.0 | 6 | 10 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 78°F | 39°F | 58.4°F | 0.64 | 0.2 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 65°F | 28°F | 46.4°F | 0.80 | 2.0 | 5 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 51°F | 19°F | 35.1°F | 0.63 | 5.9 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 10 h |
| December | 41°F | 12°F | 26.2°F | 0.67 | 9.6 | 7 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 29°F | 46.1°F | 9.41 | 54.1 | 73 | 29 | 215 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −11°C | −2.9°C | 19 mm | 27 cm |
| February | 7°C | −9°C | −1.1°C | 21 mm | 23 cm |
| March | 11°C | −5°C | 3.2°C | 25 mm | 24 cm |
| April | 15°C | −2°C | 6.2°C | 27 mm | 13 cm |
| May | 21°C | 1°C | 10.8°C | 27 mm | 5 cm |
| June | 27°C | 5°C | 16.3°C | 14 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 10°C | 20.7°C | 16 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 9°C | 19.7°C | 20 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 4°C | 14.7°C | 16 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 18°C | −2°C | 8.0°C | 20 mm | 5 cm |
| November | 11°C | −7°C | 1.7°C | 16 mm | 15 cm |
| December | 5°C | −11°C | −3.2°C | 17 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023154; 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 Ely?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, June 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 USW00023154.
When is the last frost in Ely?
In Ely, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 12 in half of years and after June 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 13 in half of years and before August 31 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
- June 121 year in 10 after June 28; 9 in 10 after May 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 131 year in 10 before August 31; 9 in 10 before September 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 91 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 115 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 31 in half of springs and before September 23 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ely in zone 5a in ZIP code 89315, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Ely's NOAA station is in zone 5b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°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 USW00023154; 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 Ely?
In a normal year in Ely, 29 days a year reach 90°F, 215 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 73 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 29a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 215a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 22high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 73a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 16a normal year
The highest temperature in Ely's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1893) is 101°F, on July 18, 1998; the lowest is −30°F, on February 6, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1897, with 17.20 in; the snowiest season is 2022–23, with 117.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00023154; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record ELYthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Ely, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 32°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 36°F; the driest air comes in December (13°F). March is the windiest month (10.0 mph on average), and June has the most clear or nearly clear hours (89%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17°F | 67% | 45% | 9.0 mph | 63% | 26% |
| February | 18°F | 61% | 40% | 9.5 mph | 61% | 25% |
| March | 21°F | 49% | 28% | 10.0 mph | 63% | 21% |
| April | 24°F | 43% | 23% | 9.5 mph | 64% | 19% |
| May | 29°F | 37% | 20% | 9.5 mph | 72% | 12% |
| June | 29°F | 25% | 13% | 9.9 mph | 89% | 3% |
| July | 36°F | 31% | 16% | 9.2 mph | 84% | 5% |
| August | 32°F | 32% | 16% | 9.4 mph | 84% | 5% |
| September | 25°F | 38% | 19% | 9.2 mph | 82% | 8% |
| October | 20°F | 48% | 26% | 9.2 mph | 75% | 15% |
| November | 15°F | 58% | 36% | 9.1 mph | 72% | 17% |
| December | 13°F | 66% | 45% | 9.1 mph | 64% | 25% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00023154. 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 Ely?
Over a year 82% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Ely, 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (88%) and December the cloudiest (73%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 77% | 2.5 |
| February | 77% | 3.5 |
| March | 77% | 4.7 |
| April | 77% | 5.8 |
| May | 79% | 6.8 |
| June | 87% | 7.9 |
| July | 84% | 7.2 |
| August | 86% | 6.7 |
| September | 88% | 5.6 |
| October | 84% | 4.1 |
| November | 80% | 2.8 |
| December | 73% | 2.1 |
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 Ely need?
A normal year in Ely brings 7,167 heating degree days, 33% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 298 cooling degree days, 67% 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 1,951 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,187 | 0 |
| February | 980 | 0 |
| March | 848 | 0 |
| April | 654 | 0 |
| May | 422 | 2 |
| June | 148 | 36 |
| July | 14 | 146 |
| August | 28 | 104 |
| September | 210 | 12 |
| October | 577 | 0 |
| November | 899 | 0 |
| December | 1,201 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,167 | 298 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00023154. 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 Ely been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 48.5°F, 2.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.1°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.0°F | +0.9°F | 9.42 | 62.5 |
| 2022 | 45.9°F | −0.2°F | 9.86 | 49.8 |
| 2023 | 43.6°F | −2.5°F | 13.81 | 94.4 |
| 2024 | 47.5°F | +1.4°F | 10.91 | 62.9 |
| 2025 | 48.5°F | +2.4°F | 6.57 | 20.7 |
Over 86 complete years from 1940 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.5°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00023154; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ely's climate compare?
Ely is warmer than 6 of the other 54 places with their own NOAA record in Nevada, and wetter than 37. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.1°F is warmer than 24%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ely 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.
Questions about Ely's climate
What is the coldest month in Ely?
December, with a normal high of 41°F and a normal low of 12°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 49°F at night).
Does it snow in Ely?
Yes: 54 inches in a normal year, falling on 34 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (10.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Ely?
April, with 1.07 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.56 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ely in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ely in zone 5a in ZIP code 89315, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Ely's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −15°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 5b.
How late can frost come in Ely?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 12; in one year in ten it comes after June 28. Waiting until June 28 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Ely in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Nevada climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ruth, NV8 miles from this station, 42.4°F a year
- McGill, NV9 miles from this station, 47.6°F a year
- Moorman Ranch - Ruth (16 mi WNW), NV26 miles from this station, 43.5°F a year
- Lund, NV31 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made