Stead, Nevada climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Stead's normal year runs from 24°F December nights to 89°F July afternoons, with 11.0 inches of precipitation and 17 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.6°C, December lows of −5°C, July highs of 32°C, 279 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationStead
- Station IDUSC00267820
- Location39.63°N 119.88°W
- Elevation5,101 ft (1,555 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Stead is 63°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 11%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Stead.
- Jan 43° 24°
- Feb 47° 26°
- Mar 54° 31°
- Apr 60° 35°
- May 69° 42°
- Jun 79° 49°
- Jul 89° 57°
- Aug 87° 55°
- Sep 79° 48°
- Oct 66° 37°
- Nov 52° 29°
- Dec 43° 24°
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 Stead each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 89°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in December (2.20 in), the least in August (0.19 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43°F | 24°F | 33.6°F | 1.59 | 4.0 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 47°F | 26°F | 36.8°F | 1.55 | 3.1 | 6 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 54°F | 31°F | 42.3°F | 1.24 | 2.5 | 5 | <1 | 21 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 35°F | 47.1°F | 0.48 | 0.6 | 4 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 69°F | 42°F | 55.6°F | 0.59 | 0.1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 79°F | 49°F | 64.1°F | 0.51 | 0.0 | 3 | 5 | <1 | 15 h |
| July | 89°F | 57°F | 72.8°F | 0.39 | 0.0 | 2 | 18 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 87°F | 55°F | 70.8°F | 0.19 | 0.0 | 1 | 14 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 79°F | 48°F | 63.5°F | 0.32 | 0.0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 66°F | 37°F | 51.8°F | 0.76 | 0.0 | 3 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 52°F | 29°F | 40.5°F | 1.15 | 1.0 | 4 | <1 | 22 | 10 h |
| December | 43°F | 24°F | 33.4°F | 2.20 | 5.4 | 5 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 38°F | 51.0°F | 10.97 | 16.7 | 44 | 40 | 147 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6°C | −5°C | 0.9°C | 40 mm | 10 cm |
| February | 8°C | −3°C | 2.7°C | 39 mm | 8 cm |
| March | 12°C | −1°C | 5.7°C | 31 mm | 6 cm |
| April | 15°C | 2°C | 8.4°C | 12 mm | 2 cm |
| May | 21°C | 6°C | 13.1°C | 15 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 26°C | 9°C | 17.8°C | 13 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 32°C | 14°C | 22.7°C | 10 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 31°C | 13°C | 21.6°C | 5 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 26°C | 9°C | 17.5°C | 8 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 19°C | 3°C | 11.0°C | 19 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 11°C | −2°C | 4.7°C | 29 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 6°C | −5°C | 0.8°C | 56 mm | 14 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00267820; 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 Stead?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, September and October. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (1).
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 USC00267820.
When is the last frost at Stead?
In Stead, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 8 in half of years and after June 2 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 12 in half of years and before September 28 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 81 year in 10 after June 2; 9 in 10 after April 22
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 121 year in 10 before September 28; 9 in 10 before October 28
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 150 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 181 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 23 in half of springs and before October 22 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Stead in zone 7b in ZIP code 89506, 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 USC00267820; 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 at Stead?
In a normal year in Stead, 40 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 147 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 44 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 40a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 147a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 7high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 44a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 6a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00267820.
How sunny is it at Stead?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Stead, 5.2 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (94%) and December the cloudiest (71%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 2.4 |
| February | 76% | 3.4 |
| March | 79% | 4.8 |
| April | 83% | 6.3 |
| May | 85% | 7.3 |
| June | 92% | 8.3 |
| July | 93% | 8.0 |
| August | 94% | 7.3 |
| September | 93% | 5.9 |
| October | 89% | 4.3 |
| November | 81% | 2.8 |
| December | 71% | 2.0 |
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 Stead record?
A normal year at Stead brings 5,665 heating degree days, 5% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 596 cooling degree days, 34% 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 2,609 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 972 | 0 |
| February | 790 | 0 |
| March | 705 | 0 |
| April | 537 | 0 |
| May | 303 | 11 |
| June | 103 | 76 |
| July | 7 | 251 |
| August | 12 | 193 |
| September | 106 | 61 |
| October | 415 | 4 |
| November | 737 | 0 |
| December | 979 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,665 | 596 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00267820. 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 Stead's climate compare?
Stead is warmer than 23 of the 55 places with their own NOAA record in Nevada, and wetter than 42. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.0°F is warmer than 45%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Stead is Csa: temperate, dry-summer, hot 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.
Which places near Stead share this climate record?
5 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Lemmon Valley, NV4,385 people · 5 mi NE
- Golden Valley, NV1,184 people · 3 mi E
- Loyalton, CA712 people · 20 mi W
- Sierra Brooks, CA538 people · 18 mi W
- Chilcoot-Vinton, CA377 people · 18 mi NW
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 Stead's climate
What is the coldest month at Stead?
December, with a normal high of 43°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (89°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow at Stead?
Yes: 17 inches in a normal year, falling on 8 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (5.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Stead?
December, with 2.20 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.19 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Stead in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Stead in zone 7b in ZIP code 89506, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come at Stead?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 8; in one year in ten it comes after June 2. Waiting until June 2 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nevada climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Spanish Springs, NV9 miles from this station, 52.0°F a year
- Sparks, NV9 miles from this station, 53.5°F a year
- Verdi, CA11 miles from this station, 49.2°F a year
- Reno, NV11 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made