Virginia City, Nevada climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Virginia City's normal year runs from 26°F December nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 11.7 inches of precipitation and 46 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.3°C, December lows of −3°C, July highs of 29°C, 297 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationVirginia City
- Station IDUSC00268761
- Location39.31°N 119.65°W
- Elevation6,340 ft (1,932 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population (census place)721
On October 23, the normal high in Virginia City is 58°F and the normal low 40°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 Virginia City.
- Jan 41° 27°
- Feb 43° 29°
- Mar 49° 33°
- Apr 55° 36°
- May 64° 44°
- Jun 74° 53°
- Jul 84° 62°
- Aug 82° 60°
- Sep 74° 53°
- Oct 61° 43°
- Nov 49° 33°
- Dec 40° 26°
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 Virginia City each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 26°F. The most precipitation falls in February (2.06 in), the least in July (0.19 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41°F | 27°F | 33.9°F | 1.82 | 13.0 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 43°F | 29°F | 35.9°F | 2.06 | 8.7 | 6 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 49°F | 33°F | 40.9°F | 1.60 | 9.3 | 4 | <1 | 16 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 55°F | 36°F | 45.2°F | 0.54 | 2.3 | 3 | <1 | 11 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 64°F | 44°F | 53.9°F | 0.74 | 0.7 | 3 | <1 | 3 | 14 h 20 min |
| June | 74°F | 53°F | 63.5°F | 0.55 | 0.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 15 h |
| July | 84°F | 62°F | 72.6°F | 0.19 | 0.0 | 1 | 6 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 82°F | 60°F | 71.2°F | 0.24 | 0.0 | 1 | 3 | <1 | 13 h 50 min |
| September | 74°F | 53°F | 63.5°F | 0.29 | 0.0 | 1 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 61°F | 43°F | 51.9°F | 0.65 | 0.3 | 2 | <1 | 5 | 11 h 10 min |
| November | 49°F | 33°F | 40.8°F | 1.07 | 2.4 | 3 | <1 | 15 | 10 h |
| December | 40°F | 26°F | 33.4°F | 1.95 | 9.5 | 5 | <1 | 25 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 41°F | 50.6°F | 11.70 | 46.4 | 37 | 10 | 120 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −3°C | 1.1°C | 46 mm | 33 cm |
| February | 6°C | −2°C | 2.2°C | 52 mm | 22 cm |
| March | 9°C | 0°C | 4.9°C | 41 mm | 24 cm |
| April | 13°C | 2°C | 7.3°C | 14 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 18°C | 7°C | 12.2°C | 19 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 24°C | 12°C | 17.5°C | 14 mm | 1 cm |
| July | 29°C | 16°C | 22.6°C | 5 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 28°C | 16°C | 21.8°C | 6 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 23°C | 12°C | 17.5°C | 7 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 6°C | 11.1°C | 17 mm | 1 cm |
| November | 9°C | 0°C | 4.9°C | 27 mm | 6 cm |
| December | 5°C | −3°C | 0.8°C | 50 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00268761; 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 Virginia City?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, July 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 USC00268761.
When is the last frost in Virginia City?
In Virginia City, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 12 in half of years and after June 5 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 17 in half of years and before October 1 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 121 year in 10 after June 5; 9 in 10 after April 23
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 171 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before November 6
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 155 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 185 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 24 in half of springs and before October 31 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Virginia City in zone 7a in ZIP code 89440, 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 USC00268761; 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 Virginia City?
In a normal year in Virginia City, 10 days a year reach 90°F, 120 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 37 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 120a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 17high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 37a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 14a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1887) is 100°F, on August 9, 1970; the lowest is −11°F, on December 9, 1972.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1983, with 25.58 in; the snowiest season is 1974–75, with 113.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00268761; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00268761. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Virginia City?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Virginia City, 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 much heating and cooling does Virginia City need?
A normal year in Virginia City brings 5,864 heating degree days, 9% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 629 cooling degree days, 31% 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 2,606 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 963 | 0 |
| February | 816 | 0 |
| March | 746 | 0 |
| April | 596 | 0 |
| May | 356 | 13 |
| June | 125 | 82 |
| July | 11 | 248 |
| August | 14 | 208 |
| September | 117 | 71 |
| October | 413 | 7 |
| November | 728 | 0 |
| December | 981 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,864 | 629 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00268761. 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 Virginia City been warmer than normal lately?
Over 31 complete years from 1954 to 2016, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 7.5°F per century (+0.42°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Virginia City's climate compare?
Virginia City is warmer than 20 of the other 54 places with their own NOAA record in Nevada, and wetter than 43. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.6°F is warmer than 43%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Virginia City 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 Virginia City share this climate record?
4 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.
- Dayton, NV15,873 people · 6 mi SE
- Washoe Valley, NV3,404 people · 7 mi W
- Stagecoach, NV1,933 people · 15 mi E
- Silver City, NV111 people · 3 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 Virginia City's climate
What is the coldest month in Virginia City?
December, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 26°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 62°F at night).
Does it snow in Virginia City?
Yes: 46 inches in a normal year, falling on 18 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (13.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Virginia City?
February, with 2.06 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.19 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Virginia City in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Virginia City in zone 7a in ZIP code 89440, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Virginia City?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 12; in one year in ten it comes after June 5. Waiting until June 5 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nevada climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Reno, NV14 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Carson, NV14 miles from this station, 51.7°F a year
- Incline Village, NV16 miles from this station, 46.0°F a year
- Sparks, NV17 miles from this station, 53.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made