Climate and average weather in Fernley

In Fernley, the summers are sweltering, dry, and clear and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: late April to mid June

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Fernley typically varies from 25°F to 93°F, and is rarely below 13°F or above 101°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while December is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Fernley for warm-weather activities are from late April to mid June and mid September to late October.

Hottest
Jul
93°
Coldest
Dec
25°
Wettest
Jan
1.4 in
Driest
Aug
0.1 in
Rain / yr
8.7 in
48 wet days
Daylight
9.2–14.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
4,160 ft
39.6°N
Clearest
Aug
21% cloud

Fernley is city in Lyon County, Nevada, United States.

Density
1,113/km²
people per km²
Founded
1904

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Fernley weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late April to mid June.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Fernley, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.4 months, from June 8 to September 19, with daily high temperatures above 81°F. The hottest month of the year in Fernley is July, with an average high of 93°F and low of 64°F.

The cool season lasts 3.3 months, from November 20 to February 26, with daily high temperatures below 52°F. The coldest month of the year in Fernley is December, with an average low of 25°F and high of 43°F.

Days typically run about 24°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 29°F) in August.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4425
Feb5029
Mar5835
Apr6440
May7349
Jun8457
Jul9364
Aug9262
Sep8254
Oct6943
Nov5432
Dec4325

How hot and cold Fernley really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Fernley feels like about 94°F (around July 23). About 61 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 19°F (around December 22), with roughly 142 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in December.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan44442125
Feb50502429
Mar58583035
Apr64643640
May73734649
Jun84845757
Jul93936464
Aug92926262
Sep82825454
Oct69694043
Nov54542832
Dec43432025

Average hourly temperature in Fernley

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 93°F, and coldest before dawn in December, near 25°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Fernley weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan44° / 25°1.464.19.50.8
Feb50° / 29°1.163.710.42.4
Mar58° / 35°1.16.12.811.74.7
Apr64° / 40°0.74.91.1136.5
May73° / 49°0.850.214.17.7
Jun84° / 57°0.42.40.114.76.9
Jul93° / 64°0.21.5014.53.9
Aug92° / 62°0.11.5013.64.5
Sep82° / 54°0.31.7012.37.7
Oct69° / 43°0.62.90.310.97.9
Nov54° / 32°0.74.11.29.83.8
Dec43° / 25°1.25.83.69.30.5

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Fernley gets about 8.7 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is mostly dry, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.5 months, from around Nov 16 to Jun 2, peaking in February at about 24% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 25.

January is the wettest month by volume, with 1.4 in over about 6 wet days; August is the driest, with 0.1 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainFeb 20 · 24%Aug 25 · 3%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan196
Feb226
Mar196
Apr165
May165
Jun82
Jul52
Aug52
Sep62
Oct93
Nov144
Dec196

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Fernley collects about 8.7 in of rain across 48 wet days — roughly 0.7 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. January is the wettest month with 1.4 in, while August is the driest at just 0.1 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 43% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

00.511.52JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1.41.11.10.70.80.40.20.10.30.60.71.2
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1.464
Feb1.164
Mar1.163
Apr0.751
May0.850
Jun0.420
Jul0.220
Aug0.120
Sep0.320
Oct0.630
Nov0.741
Dec1.264

Snow in Fernley

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Fernley averages about 17 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 27 to Apr 28 — about 6 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 4 days of snow and an estimated 6 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 27 in of snow.

0246JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 21
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan46
Feb46
Mar34
Apr12
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov12
Dec46

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Fernley, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 1 and lasts for 5.2 months, ending around November 5. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 90% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 6 and lasts for 6.8 months, ending around May 31. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 50% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 29 · 92%Jan 30 · 48%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5050
Feb5050
Mar5248
Apr5644
May6238
Jun7921
Jul8911
Aug9010
Sep8911
Oct7921
Nov6337
Dec5149

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 13, brings about 14 h 48 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 9 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.57:224:51
Feb10.46:585:25
Mar11.76:165:57
Apr13.05:266:28
May14.14:486:58
Jun14.74:347:21
Jul14.54:467:19
Aug13.65:146:48
Sep12.35:445:59
Oct10.96:145:10
Nov9.86:494:36
Dec9.37:174:30

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Fernley averages about 16 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 10 and 24 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.0 months, from around Jun 5 to Nov 3. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 24 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is January, down near 10 sunny days — about 56% fewer than the August peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 2824 daysJan 3010 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb10Mixed
Mar11Mixed
Apr11Mixed
May13Mixed
Jun19Bright
Jul23Bright
Aug24Brilliant
Sep23Brilliant
Oct20Bright
Nov14Mixed
Dec11Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Fernley, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in January, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdry
Dry (%)
Jan100
Feb100
Mar100
Apr100
May100
Jun100
Jul100
Aug100
Sep100
Oct100
Nov100
Dec100

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Fernley is typically calm, near 5 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.8 months, from around Mar 1 to Aug 23. The windiest month is April, averaging about 6 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Aug 24 to Feb 28, with December the calmest month at about 4 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeApr 17 · 6 mphDec 28 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan4calm
Feb4calm
Mar5calm
Apr6calm
May6calm
Jun6calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct4calm
Nov4calm
Dec4calm

Best time to visit Fernley

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Fernley throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around early May, Fernley is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Fernley for general outdoor tourist activities run from late April to mid June and again from mid September to late October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 30 · 8.7

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.9poor
Feb2.4poor
Mar4.7fair
Apr6.5good
May7.7ideal
Jun6.8good
Jul4.0fair
Aug4.5fair
Sep7.6ideal
Oct7.8ideal
Nov3.8fair
Dec0.6poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Fernley for hot-weather activities is from late May to early October, with a peak score in the second week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 11 · 8.9

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Fernley, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 93°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near 43°F), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Fernley sees daytime highs around 93°F and nights near 64°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Fernley by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Fernley peaks around June 23 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJun 23UV 11Dec 17UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr7High
May9Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug10Very high
Sep7High
Oct5High
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Fernley

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 9 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb20
Mar4.50
Apr6.52.5
May85
Jun96.5
Jul96.5
Aug85.5
Sep6.53
Oct50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Fernley by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Fernley is worst in July — around 28 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 5.5× the cleanest month (December, 5 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 2027 µg/m³Dec 185 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan6Good
Feb8Good
Mar10Good
Apr10Good
May10Good
Jun10Good
Jul28Moderate
Aug21Moderate
Sep19Moderate
Oct10Good
Nov7Good
Dec5Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Fernley typically lasts about 256 days, from around March 6 to November 16 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 17 to October 24.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 650%Apr 1790%Oct 2490%Nov 1650%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1831
Feb3228
Mar6631
Apr9017
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct948
Nov5230
Dec1831

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Fernley banks about 3,475 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr74
May340
Jun611
Jul884
Aug836
Sep550
Oct180
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Fernley receives about 5.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.3 and 8.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 21 to Sep 26. The brightest month is June, averaging about 8.3 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.4 kWh/m² — roughly 71% less than the June peak.

012345678910JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 288.4 kWhDec 162.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.6Moderate
Feb3.8Moderate
Mar5.2Bright
Apr6.6Intense
May7.5Intense
Jun8.3Intense
Jul8.2Intense
Aug7.4Intense
Sep6.1Intense
Oct4.4Bright
Nov3.0Moderate
Dec2.4Moderate

Where is Fernley?

Fernley sits at 39.6°N, 119.3°W, 4,160 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Spanish Springs, 24 mi away.

Topography around Fernley

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Fernley.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Fernley has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 686 ft around an average of 4,180 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,307 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 6,896 ft.

The land around Fernley is covered by bare terrain (56%) and artificial surfaces (22%) within 2 miles, grassland (48%) and bare terrain (39%) within 10 miles, and grassland (40%) and bare terrain (34%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
686 ft
10 miles
3,307 ft
50 miles
6,896 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Spanish Springs 24 mi · Sparks 27 mi · Sun Valley 28 mi · Reno 30 mi · Carson City 41 mi · Truckee 53 mi · Lake Tahoe 61 mi · Susanville 93 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Fernley (39.608°, -119.2518°, elevation 4,160 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).