Climate and average weather in Gillette

In Gillette, the summers are hot, fairly dry, and mostly clear and the winters are very cold, breezy, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: mid August to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Gillette typically varies from 16°F to 85°F, and is rarely below -5°F or above 98°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Gillette for warm-weather activities are from early June to early July and mid August to late September.

Hottest
Jul
85°
Coldest
Jan
16°
Wettest
May
3.1 in
Driest
Jan
0.6 in
Rain / yr
18.1 in
89 wet days
Daylight
8.7–15.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
4,554 ft
44.3°N
Clearest
Aug
40% cloud

Gillette is city in Campbell County, Wyoming, United States.

Density
664/km²
people per km²
Founded
1892

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

Gillette 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 mid August to late September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.2 months, from June 10 to September 14, with daily high temperatures above 73°F. The hottest month of the year in Gillette is July, with an average high of 85°F and low of 59°F.

The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from November 19 to March 6, with daily high temperatures below 43°F. The coldest month of the year in Gillette is January, with an average low of 16°F and high of 34°F.

Days typically run about 21°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 26°F) in August.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan3416
Feb3718
Mar4726
Apr5433
May6442
Jun7552
Jul8559
Aug8458
Sep7248
Oct5636
Nov4425
Dec3518

How hot and cold Gillette 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 coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 1°F (around January 4), with roughly 213 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F) 115 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan3434316
Feb3737518
Mar47471526
Apr54542433
May64643642
Jun75755052
Jul85855959
Aug84845858
Sep72724548
Oct57562836
Nov44441425
Dec3535518

Average hourly temperature in Gillette

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 85°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 16°F.

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

Gillette 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
Jan34° / 16°0.65.25.59.10.0
Feb37° / 18°0.85.85.710.20.0
Mar47° / 26°1.47.85.811.61.5
Apr54° / 33°2.410.85.413.23.2
May64° / 42°3.111.51.214.55.4
Jun75° / 52°2.310.20.115.36.8
Jul85° / 59°1.47.90155.7
Aug84° / 58°1.25.8013.86.5
Sep72° / 48°1.460.512.37.4
Oct56° / 36°1.97.83.110.84.3
Nov44° / 25°0.854.89.40.9
Dec35° / 18°0.75.15.18.70.0

Chance of rain

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

Gillette gets about 18.1 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.2 months, from around Mar 16 to Jul 22, peaking in April at about 38% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Nov 11.

May is the wettest month by volume, with 3.1 in over about 12 wet days; January is the driest, with 0.6 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetApr 28 · 38%Nov 11 · 16%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan175
Feb206
Mar258
Apr3611
May3812
Jun3410
Jul258
Aug196
Sep216
Oct248
Nov175
Dec165

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Gillette collects about 18.1 in of rain across 89 wet days — roughly 1.5 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. May is the wettest month with 3.1 in, while January is the driest at just 0.6 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 44% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

00.511.522.533.54JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0.60.81.42.43.12.31.41.21.41.90.80.7
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan0.656
Feb0.866
Mar1.486
Apr2.4115
May3.1121
Jun2.3100
Jul1.480
Aug1.260
Sep1.461
Oct1.983
Nov0.855
Dec0.755

Snow in Gillette

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.

Gillette averages about 37 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 15 to May 22 — about 8.2 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 6 days of snow and an estimated 8 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 59 in of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 9
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan67
Feb68
Mar610
Apr512
May13
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep11
Oct35
Nov56
Dec57

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Gillette, 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 11 and lasts for 4.6 months, ending around October 28. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 76% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 29 and lasts for 7.4 months, ending around June 10. The cloudiest month is April, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 57% 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 11 · 77%Apr 20 · 42%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5149
Feb4951
Mar4852
Apr4357
May4555
Jun6238
Jul7624
Aug7624
Sep6931
Oct6139
Nov5644
Dec5644

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 11, brings about 15 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 8 h 42 min — a swing of roughly 6 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.17:414:42
Feb10.27:125:22
Mar11.66:236:00
Apr13.25:256:39
May14.54:417:15
Jun15.34:237:42
Jul15.04:377:38
Aug13.85:107:02
Sep12.35:476:05
Oct10.86:255:09
Nov9.47:064:28
Dec8.77:384:19

Sunny days

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

Gillette averages about 12 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 7 and 17 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.6 months, from around Jun 17 to Dec 4. The sunniest month is September, with roughly 16 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is April, down near 7 sunny days — about 56% fewer than the September peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightSep 117 daysApr 217 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb9Mixed
Mar9Mixed
Apr7Gloomy
May8Gloomy
Jun11Mixed
Jul16Bright
Aug17Bright
Sep16Bright
Oct13Mixed
Nov12Mixed
Dec12Mixed

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 Gillette, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 1% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccomfortabledry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
Jan10000
Feb10000
Mar10000
Apr10000
May10000
Jun9460
Jul85131
Aug9371
Sep9910
Oct10000
Nov10000
Dec10000

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 Gillette is typically light breeze, near 11 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.5 months, from around Oct 11 to May 27. The windiest month is December, averaging about 12 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 28 to Oct 10, with July the calmest month at about 10 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyDec 22 · 12 mphJul 29 · 10 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan12light breeze
Feb12light breeze
Mar12light breeze
Apr12light breeze
May12light breeze
Jun11light breeze
Jul10light breeze
Aug10light breeze
Sep11light breeze
Oct11light breeze
Nov12light breeze
Dec12light breeze

Best time to visit Gillette

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late September, Gillette is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

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 Gillette for general outdoor tourist activities run from early June to early July and again from mid August to late September, with a peak score in the first week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 7 · 7.8

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
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar1.5poor
Apr3.2poor
May5.4fair
Jun6.7good
Jul5.8good
Aug6.5good
Sep7.3good
Oct4.3fair
Nov1.0poor
Dec0.0poor

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 Gillette for hot-weather activities is from late June to mid September, with a peak score in the third week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 21 · 8.0

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 Gillette, 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 85°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 34°F), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Gillette sees daytime highs around 85°F and nights near 59°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 8 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Gillette 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 Gillette peaks around June 18 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJun 18UV 9Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May7High
Jun9Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7High
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Gillette

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 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 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
Feb00
Mar3.50
Apr60
May7.53.5
Jun8.55.5
Jul84
Aug73
Sep60.5
Oct3.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Gillette 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 Gillette is worst in August — around 20 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.5× the cleanest month (December, 8 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodAug 2220 µg/m³Dec 188 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb9Good
Mar12Moderate
Apr12Good
May13Moderate
Jun13Moderate
Jul15Moderate
Aug20Moderate
Sep20Moderate
Oct14Moderate
Nov11Good
Dec8Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Gillette typically lasts about 198 days, from around April 12 to October 26 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 13 to September 30.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonJan 510%Apr 1250%May 1390%Sep 3090%Oct 2650%Dec 2210%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1031
Feb1428
Mar2931
Apr5630
May9111
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep971
Oct6831
Nov2730
Dec1231

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. Gillette banks about 2,154 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

05001,0001,5002,0002,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May108
Jun405
Jul688
Aug640
Sep305
Oct9
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.

Gillette receives about 4.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.9 and 7.6 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 17 to Sep 21. The brightest month is July, averaging about 7.4 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.9 kWh/m² — roughly 74% less than the July peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 47.6 kWhDec 181.9 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.2Moderate
Feb3.3Moderate
Mar4.6Bright
Apr5.7Bright
May6.4Intense
Jun7.2Intense
Jul7.4Intense
Aug6.5Intense
Sep5.0Bright
Oct3.4Moderate
Nov2.3Moderate
Dec1.9Dim

Where is Gillette?

Gillette sits at 44.3°N, 105.5°W, 4,554 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Sheridan, 80 mi away.

Topography around Gillette

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Gillette has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 348 ft around an average of 4,564 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,014 ft; within 50 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,707 ft.

The land around Gillette is covered by grassland (50%) and artificial surfaces (35%) within 2 miles, grassland (91%) within 10 miles, and grassland (94%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
348 ft
10 miles
1,014 ft
50 miles
2,707 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Sheridan 80 mi · Casper 106 mi · Rapid City 114 mi · Billings 179 mi · Laramie 206 mi · Cheyenne 221 mi · Dickinson 222 mi · Fort Collins 257 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 Gillette (44.2911°, -105.5022°, elevation 4,554 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).