Gerlach, Nevada climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Gerlach's normal year runs from 22°F December nights to 95°F July afternoons, with 7.8 inches of precipitation and 13 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.2°C, December lows of −6°C, July highs of 35°C, 198 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGerlach
- Station IDUSC00263090
- Location40.65°N 119.36°W
- Elevation3,954 ft (1,205 m)
- Population (census place)53
On October 23, the normal high in Gerlach is 66°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 14%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Gerlach.
- Jan 44° 24°
- Feb 50° 28°
- Mar 59° 33°
- Apr 66° 37°
- May 75° 46°
- Jun 85° 54°
- Jul 95° 62°
- Aug 93° 59°
- Sep 84° 49°
- Oct 70° 38°
- Nov 54° 28°
- Dec 43° 22°
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 Gerlach each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 95°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in January (1.07 in), the least in August (0.14 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 24°F | 33.8°F | 1.07 | 3.3 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 30 min |
| February | 50°F | 28°F | 38.9°F | 0.73 | 1.4 | 6 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 59°F | 33°F | 45.7°F | 0.85 | 1.4 | 6 | <1 | 17 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 66°F | 37°F | 51.4°F | 0.61 | 0.5 | 5 | <1 | 8 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 75°F | 46°F | 60.4°F | 1.01 | 0.0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 85°F | 54°F | 69.5°F | 0.60 | 0.0 | 4 | 9 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 95°F | 62°F | 78.2°F | 0.29 | 0.0 | 2 | 22 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| August | 93°F | 59°F | 75.9°F | 0.14 | 0.0 | 1 | 21 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 84°F | 49°F | 66.6°F | 0.27 | 0.0 | 2 | 7 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 38°F | 53.8°F | 0.54 | 0.0 | 4 | <1 | 8 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 54°F | 28°F | 41.1°F | 0.69 | 1.5 | 5 | <1 | 21 | 10 h |
| December | 43°F | 22°F | 32.2°F | 0.99 | 4.9 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 68°F | 40°F | 54.0°F | 7.79 | 13.0 | 54 | 62 | 131 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −4°C | 1.0°C | 27 mm | 8 cm |
| February | 10°C | −2°C | 3.8°C | 19 mm | 4 cm |
| March | 15°C | 0°C | 7.6°C | 22 mm | 4 cm |
| April | 19°C | 3°C | 10.8°C | 15 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 24°C | 8°C | 15.8°C | 26 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 12°C | 20.8°C | 15 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 35°C | 16°C | 25.7°C | 7 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 34°C | 15°C | 24.4°C | 4 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 29°C | 10°C | 19.2°C | 7 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 3°C | 12.1°C | 14 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 12°C | −2°C | 5.1°C | 18 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 6°C | −6°C | 0.1°C | 25 mm | 12 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00263090; 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 Gerlach?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (2).
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 USC00263090.
When is the last frost in Gerlach?
In Gerlach, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 28 in half of years and after May 15 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 15 in half of years and before October 2 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
- April 281 year in 10 after May 15; 9 in 10 after April 12
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 151 year in 10 before October 2; 9 in 10 before October 28
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 169 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 193 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 14 in half of springs and before October 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Gerlach in zone 7a in ZIP code 89405, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Nevada · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00263090; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Gerlach?
In a normal year in Gerlach, 62 days a year reach 90°F (10 of them 100°F or more), 131 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 54 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 62a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 131a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 9high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 54a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 5a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00263090.
How sunny is Gerlach?
Over a year 83% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Gerlach, 5.0 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (92%) and December the cloudiest (67%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 2.2 |
| February | 73% | 3.1 |
| March | 75% | 4.4 |
| April | 78% | 5.8 |
| May | 82% | 7.0 |
| June | 89% | 8.0 |
| July | 92% | 8.0 |
| August | 92% | 7.1 |
| September | 90% | 5.7 |
| October | 85% | 4.0 |
| November | 77% | 2.5 |
| December | 67% | 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 Gerlach need?
A normal year in Gerlach brings 5,111 heating degree days, 5% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,118 cooling degree days, 23% more than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 3,441 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 966 | 0 |
| February | 731 | 0 |
| March | 600 | 0 |
| April | 409 | 3 |
| May | 193 | 49 |
| June | 48 | 184 |
| July | 3 | 411 |
| August | 5 | 344 |
| September | 71 | 119 |
| October | 356 | 8 |
| November | 717 | 0 |
| December | 1,015 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,111 | 1,118 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00263090. 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.
How does Gerlach's climate compare?
Gerlach is warmer than 39 of the other 54 places with their own NOAA record in Nevada, and wetter than 20. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.0°F is warmer than 57%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Gerlach 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 Gerlach share this climate record?
Empire 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.
- Empire, NV0 people · 5 mi S
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Gerlach's climate
What is the coldest month in Gerlach?
December, with a normal high of 43°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (95°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Gerlach?
Yes: 13 inches in a normal year, falling on 7 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (4.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Gerlach?
January, with 1.07 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.14 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Gerlach in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Gerlach in zone 7a in ZIP code 89405, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Gerlach?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 28; in one year in ten it comes after May 15. Waiting until May 15 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nevada climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Smoke Creek Espil, NV21 miles from this station, 51.5°F a year
- Sutcliffe, NV50 miles from this station, 54.4°F a year
- Rye Patch Dam, NV57 miles from this station, 51.1°F a year
- Lovelock, NV58 miles from this station, 51.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made