Snow days and freezing nights by station

Winter arrives at different speeds across our four service centers. Minden on the Carson Valley floor freezes earlier and harder than Reno, Carson City falls in between, and the snow comes in a few short bursts rather than a long season. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information publishes 1991-2020 climate normals for a station near each part of our area; the generated table compares the annual figures, and the month-by-month detail below shows when each piece of winter car care is due. NOAA normals report snowfall in inches rather than a count of snow days, so that is what we use.

Highlights

• Minden averages 188.5 freezing nights a year, Carson City 146.0 and the Reno airport 121.9 (NOAA 1991-2020 normals).
• Nights at or below 20 F: 75.1 in Minden, 42.8 in Carson City and 25.1 at the Reno airport (NOAA 1991-2020 normals).
• December is the snowiest month in Carson City at 6.4 inches; January in Minden at 5.6 inches (NOAA 1991-2020 monthly normals).
• Reno averages 5.2 inches of snow in each of December, January and February (NOAA 1991-2020 monthly normals).
• Minden still averages 20.0 freezing nights in October and 21.1 in April (NOAA 1991-2020 monthly normals).

The data

NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, Reno-Tahoe International Airport (USW00023185): mean high / mean low, days at or above 90 F, nights at or below 32 F.

Month by month, freezing nights

At the Reno airport, freezing nights average 5.4 in October, 19.3 in November, 26.6 in December, 25.7 in January, 21.6 in February, 15.1 in March and 7.4 in April (NOAA 1991-2020 monthly normals). Carson City runs about a week of extra freezes in most months: 12.6 in October, 21.9 in November, 25.8 in December, 26.9 in January and 12.1 in April.

Minden is in a different league. It averages 20.0 freezing nights in October, 26.9 in November, 28.7 in December, 29.1 in January, 25.5 in February, 25.3 in March, 21.1 in April and still 7.1 in May (NOAA 1991-2020 monthly normals). A Gardnerville car sees its first hard freezes a month before a Reno car does.

• Reno airport: 121.9 freezing nights, 25.1 at 20 F or below, 0.4 at 0 F or below (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
• Carson City: 146.0 freezing nights, 42.8 at 20 F or below, 1.2 at 0 F or below
• Minden: 188.5 freezing nights, 75.1 at 20 F or below, 2.1 at 0 F or below

Month by month, snowfall

Reno's snow is spread evenly over the core of winter: 5.2 inches in each of December, January and February, 2.9 in March, 1.8 in November and 0.4 in April (NOAA 1991-2020 monthly normals). Carson City's is front-loaded, with 6.4 of its 14.0 inches in December and only 3.6 in January. Minden peaks in January at 5.6 inches, then December at 5.2, February at 4.1 and March at 3.4, for 21.8 inches a year.

Those valley-floor totals understate what drivers meet on the way to the lake. The Mount Rose Highway, Kingsbury Grade and Spooner Summit climb thousands of feet above the stations, and chain controls there are a separate question from the snow in town; check NDOT before you go.

A winter calendar built from the numbers

Each of those checks is part of the multi-point inspection at an oil change at our four service centers. The before-winter checklist and the winter car care page go into each one.

1. Late September in Carson Valley, early October in Reno: battery test, because the first run of 20-plus freezing nights a month starts in October in Minden and November in Reno.
2. October: coolant freeze-point test and a top-off with the right coolant type.
3. October to November: new wiper blades and winter washer fluid before the first snow.
4. November: check every headlight and tail light; the shortest days overlap the snowiest months.
5. December to February: keep the fuel tank above half and watch for slow cranking on the coldest mornings.
6. April: an engine air filter look once the roads dry and the spring wind starts.

Which service center sees the hardest winter

Gardnerville, near the Minden station, sees the most cold starts. Carson City is next, then the two Reno service centers. That is why our Gardnerville battery check page and Carson City coolant page lean on these numbers. Any of the four service centers can run the checks without an appointment.