Mount Charleston, Nevada climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Mount Charleston's normal year runs from 21°F December nights to 79°F July afternoons, with 26.4 inches of precipitation and 100 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.3°C, December lows of −6°C, July highs of 26°C, 671 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMount Charleston Fire Station
- Station IDUSC00265400
- Location36.26°N 115.64°W
- Elevation7,460 ft (2,274 m)
- Population (census place)518
On October 14, the normal high in Mount Charleston is 62°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 10%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Mount Charleston.
- Jan 44° 22°
- Feb 44° 22°
- Mar 49° 26°
- Apr 55° 30°
- May 63° 37°
- Jun 74° 46°
- Jul 79° 52°
- Aug 78° 52°
- Sep 72° 44°
- Oct 62° 35°
- Nov 51° 27°
- Dec 44° 21°
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 Mount Charleston each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 21°F. The most precipitation falls in February (5.12 in), the least in June (0.31 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44°F | 22°F | 32.9°F | 3.70 | 20.5 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 10 h |
| February | 44°F | 22°F | 33.2°F | 5.12 | 29.3 | 7 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 50 min |
| March | 49°F | 26°F | 37.4°F | 2.91 | 17.2 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 30°F | 42.2°F | 1.01 | 6.2 | 4 | <1 | 22 | 13 h |
| May | 63°F | 37°F | 50.2°F | 0.82 | 1.6 | 4 | <1 | 11 | 14 h |
| June | 74°F | 46°F | 59.7°F | 0.31 | 0.3 | 2 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 40 min |
| July | 79°F | 52°F | 65.6°F | 2.21 | 0.0 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| August | 78°F | 52°F | 65.0°F | 2.34 | 0.0 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 30 min |
| September | 72°F | 44°F | 57.9°F | 1.71 | 0.0 | 4 | <1 | 3 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 62°F | 35°F | 48.2°F | 1.79 | 1.0 | 3 | <1 | 15 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 51°F | 27°F | 39.0°F | 1.32 | 7.7 | 3 | <1 | 25 | 10 h 20 min |
| December | 44°F | 21°F | 32.5°F | 3.16 | 16.3 | 6 | <1 | 30 | 9 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 34°F | 47.0°F | 26.40 | 100.1 | 56 | 1 | 193 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | −6°C | 0.5°C | 94 mm | 52 cm |
| February | 7°C | −6°C | 0.7°C | 130 mm | 74 cm |
| March | 10°C | −4°C | 3.0°C | 74 mm | 44 cm |
| April | 13°C | −1°C | 5.7°C | 26 mm | 16 cm |
| May | 17°C | 3°C | 10.1°C | 21 mm | 4 cm |
| June | 23°C | 8°C | 15.4°C | 8 mm | 1 cm |
| July | 26°C | 11°C | 18.7°C | 56 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 26°C | 11°C | 18.3°C | 59 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 7°C | 14.4°C | 43 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 2°C | 9.0°C | 45 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 11°C | −3°C | 3.9°C | 34 mm | 20 cm |
| December | 7°C | −6°C | 0.3°C | 80 mm | 41 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00265400; 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 Mount Charleston?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, June 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 USC00265400.
When is the last frost in Mount Charleston?
In Mount Charleston, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 31 in half of years and after June 14 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 2 in half of years and before September 19 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 311 year in 10 after June 14; 9 in 10 after May 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 21 year in 10 before September 19; 9 in 10 before October 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 124 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 151 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 15 in half of springs and before October 13 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Mount Charleston in zone 8b in ZIP code 89166, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Mount Charleston's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (24 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 USC00265400; 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 Mount Charleston?
In a normal year in Mount Charleston, 1 day a year reaches 90°F, 193 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 56 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 193a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 12high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 56a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 21a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1949) is 98°F, on July 22, 1988; the lowest is −18°F, on December 22, 1990.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2005, with 41.12 in; the snowiest season is 2004–05, with 213.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00265400; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00265400. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Mount Charleston?
Over a year 90% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Mount Charleston, 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 much heating and cooling does Mount Charleston need?
A normal year in Mount Charleston brings 6,705 heating degree days, 25% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 156 cooling degree days, 83% 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 1,700 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 997 | 0 |
| February | 892 | 0 |
| March | 856 | 0 |
| April | 683 | 0 |
| May | 460 | 1 |
| June | 182 | 22 |
| July | 52 | 70 |
| August | 54 | 56 |
| September | 219 | 8 |
| October | 522 | 0 |
| November | 782 | 0 |
| December | 1,007 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,705 | 156 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00265400. 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 Mount Charleston been warmer than normal lately?
2021 averaged 48.0°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 47.0°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48.0°F | +1.0°F | 24.01 | 94.4 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00265400. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Mount Charleston's climate compare?
Mount Charleston is warmer than 10 of the other 54 places with their own NOAA record in Nevada, and wetter than 50. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 47.0°F is warmer than 28%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Mount Charleston is Csb: temperate, dry-summer, warm summer. 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 Mount Charleston's climate
What is the coldest month in Mount Charleston?
December, with a normal high of 44°F and a normal low of 21°F. The warmest is July (79°F by day, 52°F at night).
Does it snow in Mount Charleston?
Yes: 100 inches in a normal year, falling on 26 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in February (29.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Mount Charleston?
February, with 5.12 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.31 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Mount Charleston in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Mount Charleston in zone 8b in ZIP code 89166, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Mount Charleston's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (24 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Mount Charleston?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 31; in one year in ten it comes after June 14. Waiting until June 14 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nevada climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Red Rock Canyon - Spring Mount Ranch S, NV17 miles from this station, 61.8°F a year
- Desert National Wildlife Refuge, NV20 miles from this station, 62.5°F a year
- Pahrump, NV23 miles from this station, 62.3°F a year
- Las Vegas Air Terminal, NV25 miles from this station, 68.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made