Mercury Desert Rock Airport, Nevada climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Mercury Desert Rock Airport's normal year runs from 32°F December nights to 101°F July afternoons, with 5.2 inches of precipitation and 1 inch of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.5°C, December lows of 0°C, July highs of 38°C, 133 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMercury Desert Rock Airport
- Station IDUSW00003160
- Location36.62°N 116.03°W
- Elevation3,230 ft (985 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Mercury Desert Rock Airport is 75°F and the normal low 47°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 7%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Mercury Desert Rock Airport.
- Jan 57° 33°
- Feb 60° 36°
- Mar 67° 41°
- Apr 74° 47°
- May 84° 55°
- Jun 95° 64°
- Jul 101° 71°
- Aug 99° 70°
- Sep 91° 62°
- Oct 78° 50°
- Nov 65° 39°
- Dec 55° 32°
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 Mercury Desert Rock Airport each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 101°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 32°F. The most precipitation falls in February (0.94 in), the least in June (0.12 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 | 57°F | 33°F | 45.0°F | 0.68 | 0.3 | 4 | <1 | 13 | 9 h 50 min |
| February | 60°F | 36°F | 47.9°F | 0.94 | 0.2 | 5 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 67°F | 41°F | 54.1°F | 0.58 | 0.2 | 4 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 74°F | 47°F | 60.3°F | 0.36 | 0.1 | 3 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 84°F | 55°F | 69.5°F | 0.18 | 0.0 | 2 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 95°F | 64°F | 79.6°F | 0.12 | 0.0 | 1 | 23 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 101°F | 71°F | 86.0°F | 0.32 | 0.0 | 2 | 30 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| August | 99°F | 70°F | 84.3°F | 0.39 | 0.0 | 2 | 30 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 91°F | 62°F | 76.3°F | 0.38 | 0.0 | 2 | 20 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 78°F | 50°F | 64.0°F | 0.37 | 0.0 | 2 | 3 | <1 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 65°F | 39°F | 51.6°F | 0.27 | 0.0 | 2 | <1 | 5 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 55°F | 32°F | 43.6°F | 0.63 | 0.2 | 3 | <1 | 16 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 77°F | 50°F | 63.5°F | 5.22 | 1.0 | 31 | 116 | 47 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14°C | 1°C | 7.2°C | 17 mm | 1 cm |
| February | 16°C | 2°C | 8.8°C | 24 mm | 1 cm |
| March | 20°C | 5°C | 12.3°C | 15 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 23°C | 8°C | 15.7°C | 9 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 29°C | 13°C | 20.8°C | 5 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 35°C | 18°C | 26.4°C | 3 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 38°C | 22°C | 30.0°C | 8 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 37°C | 21°C | 29.1°C | 10 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 33°C | 16°C | 24.6°C | 10 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 26°C | 10°C | 17.8°C | 9 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 18°C | 4°C | 10.9°C | 7 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 13°C | 0°C | 6.4°C | 16 mm | 1 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003160; 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 Mercury Desert Rock Airport?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in March, April, May and October. Of those, May 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 USW00003160.
When is the last frost at Mercury Desert Rock Airport?
In Mercury Desert Rock Airport, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 16 in half of years and after April 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 17 in half of years and before October 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
- March 161 year in 10 after April 9; 9 in 10 after February 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 171 year in 10 before October 31; 9 in 10 before December 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 242 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 281 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 20 in half of springs and before November 30 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Mercury Desert Rock Airport in zone 8b in ZIP code 89060, 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 9a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 20°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 USW00003160; 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 Mercury Desert Rock Airport?
In a normal year in Mercury Desert Rock Airport, 116 days a year reach 90°F (45 of them 100°F or more), 47 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 31 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 116a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 45a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 47a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 31a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1978) is 114°F, on July 11, 2021; the lowest is 6°F, on December 22, 1990.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 12.05 in; the snowiest season is 1984–85, with 8.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00003160; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00003160. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is it at Mercury Desert Rock Airport, and how clear are the skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 37°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 39°F; the driest air comes in December (20°F). April is the windiest month (10.1 mph on average), and June has the most clear or nearly clear hours (91%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°F | 40% | 25% | 8.1 mph | 72% | 16% |
| February | 24°F | 38% | 24% | 9.1 mph | 71% | 16% |
| March | 24°F | 28% | 18% | 9.8 mph | 78% | 10% |
| April | 25°F | 22% | 14% | 10.1 mph | 81% | 8% |
| May | 30°F | 19% | 13% | 9.8 mph | 84% | 5% |
| June | 32°F | 15% | 11% | 9.7 mph | 91% | 2% |
| July | 39°F | 19% | 13% | 8.8 mph | 89% | 2% |
| August | 38°F | 21% | 14% | 8.3 mph | 88% | 3% |
| September | 30°F | 21% | 15% | 7.8 mph | 90% | 2% |
| October | 25°F | 29% | 19% | 7.8 mph | 83% | 7% |
| November | 20°F | 36% | 24% | 8.0 mph | 79% | 11% |
| December | 20°F | 40% | 27% | 7.8 mph | 69% | 18% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00003160. 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 it at Mercury Desert Rock Airport?
Over a year 92% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Mercury Desert Rock Airport, 5.7 kWh per square metre a day. June is the sunniest month (96%) and December the cloudiest (83%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 3.0 |
| February | 85% | 4.0 |
| March | 88% | 5.5 |
| April | 91% | 6.9 |
| May | 93% | 7.9 |
| June | 96% | 8.6 |
| July | 94% | 7.9 |
| August | 96% | 7.4 |
| September | 96% | 6.3 |
| October | 92% | 4.7 |
| November | 89% | 3.4 |
| December | 83% | 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 Mercury Desert Rock Airport record?
A normal year at Mercury Desert Rock Airport brings 2,842 heating degree days, 47% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 2,331 cooling degree days, 2.6 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 5,563 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 620 | 0 |
| February | 480 | 0 |
| March | 339 | 3 |
| April | 171 | 32 |
| May | 49 | 189 |
| June | 5 | 441 |
| July | 0 | 651 |
| August | 0 | 597 |
| September | 6 | 344 |
| October | 104 | 73 |
| November | 405 | 2 |
| December | 663 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 2,842 | 2,331 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00003160. 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 Mercury Desert Rock Airport been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 65.7°F, 2.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 63.5°F. 4 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65.1°F | +1.6°F | 3.26 | 7.0 |
| 2022 | 64.5°F | +1.0°F | 1.98 | 1.0 |
| 2024 | 65.3°F | +1.8°F | 5.36 | 0.0 |
| 2025 | 65.7°F | +2.2°F | 5.07 | 0.0 |
Over 42 complete years from 1979 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 5.9°F per century (+0.33°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00003160; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Mercury Desert Rock Airport's climate compare?
Mercury Desert Rock Airport is warmer than 49 of the 55 places with their own NOAA record in Nevada, and wetter than 9. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.5°F is warmer than 84%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Mercury Desert Rock Airport 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 Mercury Desert Rock Airport's climate
What is the coldest month at Mercury Desert Rock Airport?
December, with a normal high of 55°F and a normal low of 32°F. The warmest is July (101°F by day, 71°F at night).
Does it snow at Mercury Desert Rock Airport?
Yes: 1 inch in a normal year, falling on 1 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (0.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Mercury Desert Rock Airport?
February, with 0.94 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.12 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Mercury Desert Rock Airport in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Mercury Desert Rock Airport in zone 8b in ZIP code 89060, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 20°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 9a.
How late can frost come at Mercury Desert Rock Airport?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 16; in one year in ten it comes after April 9. Waiting until April 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Mercury Desert Rock Airport in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Nevada climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Mercury (3 mi SSW), NV1 miles from this station, 63.0°F a year
- Amargosa Farms-Garey, NV24 miles from this station, 64.5°F a year
- Pahrump, NV25 miles from this station, 62.3°F a year
- Mount Charleston, NV33 miles from this station, 47.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made