Anacortes, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Anacortes's normal year runs from 37°F December nights to 75°F August afternoons, with 29.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.6°C, December lows of 3°C, August highs of 24°C, 736 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAnacortes
- Station IDUSC00450176
- Location48.51°N 122.61°W
- Elevation20 ft (6 m)
- Population18,148
On October 23, the normal high in Anacortes is 59°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 50%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Anacortes.
- Jan 48° 37°
- Feb 51° 37°
- Mar 54° 40°
- Apr 59° 43°
- May 66° 48°
- Jun 70° 52°
- Jul 75° 54°
- Aug 75° 54°
- Sep 70° 51°
- Oct 61° 46°
- Nov 53° 40°
- Dec 47° 37°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Anacortes each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 75°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 37°F. The most precipitation falls in November (4.36 in), the least in July (0.76 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48°F | 37°F | 42.5°F | 3.93 | 18 | <1 | 9 | 8 h 40 min |
| February | 51°F | 37°F | 43.7°F | 2.58 | 14 | <1 | 7 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 54°F | 40°F | 47.0°F | 2.42 | 17 | <1 | 3 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 43°F | 51.3°F | 2.06 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 66°F | 48°F | 56.8°F | 1.86 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 70°F | 52°F | 60.9°F | 1.50 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 16 h 10 min |
| July | 75°F | 54°F | 64.5°F | 0.76 | 4 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| August | 75°F | 54°F | 64.7°F | 1.38 | 5 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 70°F | 51°F | 60.7°F | 1.55 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 61°F | 46°F | 53.4°F | 2.78 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 11 h |
| November | 53°F | 40°F | 46.5°F | 4.36 | 18 | <1 | 4 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 47°F | 37°F | 41.9°F | 3.78 | 19 | <1 | 7 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 45°F | 52.8°F | 28.96 | 150 | 1 | 30 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | 3°C | 5.8°C | 100 mm |
| February | 10°C | 3°C | 6.5°C | 66 mm |
| March | 12°C | 4°C | 8.3°C | 61 mm |
| April | 15°C | 6°C | 10.7°C | 52 mm |
| May | 19°C | 9°C | 13.8°C | 47 mm |
| June | 21°C | 11°C | 16.1°C | 38 mm |
| July | 24°C | 12°C | 18.1°C | 19 mm |
| August | 24°C | 12°C | 18.2°C | 35 mm |
| September | 21°C | 11°C | 15.9°C | 39 mm |
| October | 16°C | 8°C | 11.9°C | 71 mm |
| November | 12°C | 5°C | 8.1°C | 111 mm |
| December | 8°C | 3°C | 5.5°C | 96 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Olga (2 mi SE) (11 miles away), gets 6 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00450176; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Anacortes?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (4).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00450176.
When is the last frost in Anacortes?
In Anacortes, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 8 in half of years and after March 28 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 20 in half of years and before November 1 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- March 81 year in 10 after March 28; 9 in 10 after February 17
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 201 year in 10 before November 1; 9 in 10 before December 11
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 255 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 304 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 15 in half of springs and before December 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Anacortes in zone 8b in ZIP code 98221.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Washington · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00450176; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get in Anacortes?
In a normal year in Anacortes, 1 day a year reaches 90°F, 30 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 150 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 30a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 150a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1905) is 95°F, on June 25, 1925; the lowest is 4°F, on December 17, 1964.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1990, with 41.43 in; the snowiest season is 1949–50, with 25.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00450176; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00450176. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Anacortes?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Anacortes, 3.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (51%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 52% | 1.0 |
| February | 61% | 1.9 |
| March | 61% | 2.9 |
| April | 67% | 4.3 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 72% | 6.0 |
| July | 82% | 6.5 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 76% | 3.9 |
| October | 64% | 2.2 |
| November | 55% | 1.1 |
| December | 51% | 0.8 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Anacortes need?
A normal year in Anacortes brings 4,520 heating degree days, 16% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 92 cooling degree days, 90% fewer than the median (908). Seven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 2,013 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 698 | 0 |
| February | 598 | 0 |
| March | 558 | 0 |
| April | 410 | 0 |
| May | 256 | 2 |
| June | 136 | 11 |
| July | 53 | 36 |
| August | 45 | 34 |
| September | 136 | 9 |
| October | 361 | 0 |
| November | 554 | 0 |
| December | 716 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,520 | 92 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00450176. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
How does Anacortes's climate compare?
Anacortes is warmer than 85 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 50. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.8°F is warmer than 53%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Anacortes is Csb: temperate, dry-summer, warm summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Anacortes share this climate record?
Edison has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Edison, WA260 people · 9 mi NE
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Anacortes's climate
What is the coldest month in Anacortes?
December, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 37°F. The warmest is August (75°F by day, 54°F at night).
Does it snow in Anacortes?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Anacortes's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Olga (2 mi SE) (11 miles away), records 6 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Anacortes?
November, with 4.36 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.76 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Anacortes in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Anacortes in zone 8b in ZIP code 98221.
How late can frost come in Anacortes?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 8; in one year in ten it comes after March 28. Waiting until March 28 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Anacortes in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Olga (2 mi SE), WA11 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, WA11 miles from this station, 52.1°F a year
- Mount Vernon, WA12 miles from this station, 51.5°F a year
- Sedro-Woolley, WA17 miles from this station, 51.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made