Heat stress in Reno
High-desert sun delivers strong daytime heat load with cool, dry nights.
Heat stress is low right now: normal outdoor activity is fine.
Wet-bulb globe temperature via the Liljegren (2008) method. This page is cached and refreshes in the background, so the live badge below can be a few minutes ahead of it.
View Reno on the live mapReading heat stress in Reno
Wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) is the heat measure that actually tracks danger to the body. Unlike the plain air temperature on your phone, it folds in humidity, wind, and direct sun: the factors that decide whether your sweat can still cool you. It’s the standard the military, athletic associations, and occupational-safety bodies use to call when outdoor activity is no longer safe.
That matters in Reno because high-desert sun delivers strong daytime heat load with cool, dry nights. The number above is the live outdoor WBGT for the city right now; tap through to the live map to inspect any neighborhood, scrub the forecast hour by hour, and see the 7-day outlook.
How hot Reno usually gets
Across 2015–2024, Reno averaged a 88°F daily high in summer: 60th hottest of the 174 metros we track, and July is typically the warmest month.
Most of the heat here sits below the extremes: around 47 days a year top 90°F, and only about 2 reach 100°F.
The air is dry, averaging about 29% through summer, so sweat works and the danger is sun load and raw heat rather than mugginess.
A bad day runs well past a normal one, with 105°F recorded against a 88°F summer average.
Daily high temperatures and humidity from ERA5 reanalysis, 2015–2024 (hottest day in the sample: 2024-07-08). These are climate averages for context: the reading at the top of this page is the live one.
For school sports, see our Nevada heat policy page.
Heat in Reno: common questions
How hot does it usually get in Reno?
Across 2015–2024, Reno averaged a 88°F daily high through summer, with about 47 days a year at or above 90°F and 2 at or above 100°F. July is typically the hottest month, and the hottest day in that sample reached 105°F. Figures are from ERA5 daily reanalysis.
When is the hottest time of year in Reno?
July has the highest average daily high in Reno. Summer humidity averages only about 29%, so sweat evaporates efficiently: the danger here is sun and raw heat rather than mugginess. Use the forecast on this page to plan around the specific days that matter.
What is the WBGT in Reno right now?
The reading at the top of this page is the current wet-bulb globe temperature for Reno, Nevada, computed from live weather by the Liljegren (2008) method and labeled with how recently it updated. For an exact reading at your own neighborhood, plus an hour-by-hour forecast, open the live map.
Why is WBGT more useful than the temperature for Reno?
Air temperature ignores humidity, wind, and sun: the things that decide whether heat is dangerous. Reno's climate (high-desert sun delivers strong daytime heat load with cool, dry nights.) is exactly why a single "feels-like" or thermometer reading can understate the real risk. WBGT captures all of it in one number.
When is heat most dangerous in Reno?
July is the peak month in Reno, and within a day heat stress is highest in the early-to-mid afternoon when sun load is greatest. About 47 days a year reach 90°F, so most of the risk sits in a handful of afternoons rather than across the whole season. Use the forecast on this page to find the window that works.
Put Reno’s live heat stress on your site
A self-updating WBGT badge for schools, teams, camps, and local sites: it always shows the current reading and links back here.
<iframe src="https://wetbulbtracker.com/embed/reno-nv" width="340" height="150" style="border:0" title="Live WBGT: Reno, NV" loading="lazy"></iframe>Paste it into any website. The badge updates itself and links back here. Add ?theme=light for light sites.