Climate and average weather in Truckee

In Truckee, the summers are warm, fairly dry, and clear and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: mid June to early October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Truckee typically varies from 24°F to 78°F, and is rarely below 14°F or above 86°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while December is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Truckee for warm-weather activities is from mid June to early October.

Hottest
Jul
78°
Coldest
Dec
24°
Wettest
Dec
7.0 in
Driest
Jul
0.5 in
Rain / yr
41.4 in
95 wet days
Daylight
9.2–14.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
5,817 ft
39.3°N
Clearest
Aug
19% cloud

Truckee is town in Nevada County, California, United States.

Density
187/km²
people per km²
Founded
1993

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

Truckee 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 June to early October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.3 months, from June 16 to September 23, with daily high temperatures above 68°F. The hottest month of the year in Truckee is July, with an average high of 78°F and low of 52°F.

The cool season lasts 4.7 months, from November 17 to April 7, with daily high temperatures below 45°F. The coldest month of the year in Truckee is December, with an average low of 24°F and high of 37°F.

Days typically run about 20°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 26°F) in July.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan3824
Feb4024
Mar4326
Apr4729
May5735
Jun6944
Jul7852
Aug7752
Sep7146
Oct6037
Nov4628
Dec3724

How hot and cold Truckee 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 15°F (around December 21), with roughly 214 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)
Jan38381724
Feb40401724
Mar43432026
Apr47472229
May57573135
Jun69694044
Jul78785152
Aug77775252
Sep71714446
Oct60603337
Nov46462228
Dec37371624

Average hourly temperature in Truckee

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 78°F, and coldest before dawn in December, near 24°F.

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

Truckee 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
Jan38° / 24°7.011.611.29.50.0
Feb40° / 24°6.611.711.510.50.0
Mar43° / 26°6.21211.611.70.5
Apr47° / 29°3.59.98.4131.6
May57° / 35°2.69.34.414.14.2
Jun69° / 44°1.04.80.914.77.7
Jul78° / 52°0.53.2014.58.6
Aug77° / 52°0.53.2013.58.7
Sep71° / 46°0.73.70.412.38.2
Oct60° / 37°2.05.22.2115.7
Nov46° / 28°3.98.57.59.81.3
Dec37° / 24°7.011.611.19.30.0

Chance of rain

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

Truckee gets about 41.4 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 6.7 months, from around Nov 9 to May 31, peaking in February at about 44% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 25.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 7.0 in over about 12 wet days; July is the driest, with 0.5 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetFeb 19 · 44%Aug 25 · 9%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3812
Feb4212
Mar3812
Apr3310
May309
Jun165
Jul113
Aug113
Sep124
Oct175
Nov299
Dec3712

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Truckee collects about 41.4 in of rain across 95 wet days — roughly 3.4 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 7.0 in, while July is the driest at just 0.5 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 50% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec7.06.66.23.52.61.00.50.50.72.03.97.0
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan7.01211
Feb6.61212
Mar6.21212
Apr3.5108
May2.694
Jun1.051
Jul0.530
Aug0.530
Sep0.740
Oct2.052
Nov3.998
Dec7.01211

Snow in Truckee

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.

Truckee averages about 69 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 21 to Jun 19 — about 8.9 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 12 days of snow and an estimated 70 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 330 in of snow.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 21
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan1165
Feb1270
Mar1253
Apr831
May411
Jun11
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct26
Nov828
Dec1164

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Truckee, 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 May 30 and lasts for 5.2 months, ending around November 4. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 91% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 5 and lasts for 6.8 months, ending around May 29. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 60% 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 25 · 92%Feb 19 · 39%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4258
Feb4060
Mar4258
Apr5149
May5941
Jun7723
Jul8812
Aug919
Sep8713
Oct7426
Nov5644
Dec4555

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 16, brings about 14 h 48 min of light; the shortest, around December 15, 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)
Jan9.57:254:55
Feb10.57:015:29
Mar11.76:206:01
Apr13.05:306:32
May14.14:527:01
Jun14.74:387:24
Jul14.54:517:22
Aug13.55:186:51
Sep12.35:476:03
Oct11.06:175:14
Nov9.86:524:40
Dec9.37:204:34

Sunny days

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

Truckee averages about 15 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 8 and 25 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.1 months, from around Jun 1 to Nov 2. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 24 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is March, down near 9 sunny days — about 63% fewer than the August peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 2825 daysMar 248 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan10Mixed
Feb8Mixed
Mar9Mixed
Apr10Mixed
May13Mixed
Jun19Bright
Jul24Brilliant
Aug25Brilliant
Sep23Bright
Oct19Bright
Nov12Mixed
Dec10Mixed

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 Truckee, 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.

Wind in Truckee is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 mphcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmlight breezeDec 9 · 6 mphJul 28 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan6calm
Feb6calm
Mar6calm
Apr6calm
May5calm
Jun5calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct5calm
Nov6calm
Dec6calm

Hazard calendar for Truckee

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Truckee's rainy season runs November–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Truckee

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late June, Truckee 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 time of year to visit Truckee for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid June to early October, with a peak score in the last week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 28 · 8.9

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
Mar0.5poor
Apr1.7poor
May4.2fair
Jun7.6ideal
Jul8.6ideal
Aug8.7ideal
Sep8.2ideal
Oct5.6good
Nov1.4poor
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 Truckee for hot-weather activities is from late June to early September, with a peak score in the third week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 15 · 7.9

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 Truckee, 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 78°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near 37°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Truckee sees daytime highs around 78°F and nights near 52°F. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes. About 3 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Truckee 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 Truckee peaks around June 21 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 13 at about 2 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJun 21UV 11Dec 13UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb4Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr8Very high
May10Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug10Very high
Sep7High
Oct5High
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Moderate

Average hourly UV index in Truckee

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
Feb40
Mar50
Apr7.54
May8.56
Jun96.5
Jul96.5
Aug85.5
Sep6.53
Oct50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Truckee 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 Truckee is worst in August — around 85 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 16.6× the cleanest month (December, 5 µg/m³).

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

0306090JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateUnhealthyModerateGoodAug 1679 µg/m³Dec 165 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan6Good
Feb8Good
Mar9Good
Apr9Good
May9Good
Jun14Moderate
Jul45Poor
Aug85Unhealthy
Sep34Moderate
Oct11Good
Nov6Good
Dec5Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Truckee typically lasts about 183 days, from around May 4 to November 2 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from June 3 to October 3.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 2410%May 450%Jun 390%Oct 390%Nov 250%Dec 1410%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1131
Feb1028
Mar1631
Apr2630
May6931
Jun962
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep980
Oct7829
Nov3130
Dec1131

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. Truckee banks about 1,371 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

05001,0001,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May2
Jun182
Jul455
Aug456
Sep255
Oct20
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.

Truckee receives about 5.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.2 and 8.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 23 to Sep 27. The brightest month is June, averaging about 8.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.3 kWh/m² — roughly 72% less than the June peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 288.4 kWhDec 152.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.5Moderate
Feb3.5Moderate
Mar5.0Bright
Apr6.6Intense
May7.4Intense
Jun8.2Intense
Jul8.2Intense
Aug7.4Intense
Sep6.0Intense
Oct4.4Bright
Nov2.9Moderate
Dec2.3Moderate

Where is Truckee?

Truckee sits at 39.3°N, 120.2°W, 5,817 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Reno, 24 mi away.

Topography around Truckee

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Truckee has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 994 ft around an average of 6,066 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,799 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 10,062 ft.

The land around Truckee is covered by trees (75%) within 2 miles, trees (85%) within 10 miles, and trees (60%) and grassland (30%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
994 ft
10 miles
3,799 ft
50 miles
10,062 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Reno 24 mi · Carson City 25 mi · Sparks 27 mi · Sun Valley 29 mi · Lake Tahoe 29 mi · Spanish Springs 34 mi · Fernley 53 mi · Cameron Park 63 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 Truckee (39.328°, -120.1833°, elevation 5,817 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).