Bellingham, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Bellingham's normal year runs from 34°F December nights to 73°F July afternoons, with 34.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.7°C, December lows of 1°C, July highs of 23°C, 882 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBellingham International Airport
- Station IDUSW00024217
- Location48.79°N 122.54°W
- Elevation149 ft (45 m)
- From the center4 miles
- Population95,860
On October 23, the normal high in Bellingham is 57°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 56%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Bellingham.
- Jan 46° 34°
- Feb 49° 35°
- Mar 53° 38°
- Apr 58° 42°
- May 64° 47°
- Jun 68° 52°
- Jul 73° 55°
- Aug 73° 55°
- Sep 68° 50°
- Oct 59° 43°
- Nov 51° 38°
- Dec 46° 34°
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 Bellingham each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 73°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in November (5.20 in), the least in July (0.88 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 | 46°F | 34°F | 40.2°F | 4.49 | 19 | <1 | 13 | 8 h 40 min |
| February | 49°F | 35°F | 41.7°F | 2.85 | 16 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 53°F | 38°F | 45.1°F | 3.36 | 18 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 42°F | 49.6°F | 2.77 | 16 | <1 | 2 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 64°F | 47°F | 55.5°F | 2.23 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 68°F | 52°F | 59.8°F | 1.61 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 16 h 10 min |
| July | 73°F | 55°F | 63.9°F | 0.88 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| August | 73°F | 55°F | 63.9°F | 1.13 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 30 min |
| September | 68°F | 50°F | 58.9°F | 2.01 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 43°F | 51.1°F | 3.85 | 16 | <1 | 2 | 10 h 50 min |
| November | 51°F | 38°F | 44.5°F | 5.20 | 20 | <1 | 9 | 9 h 10 min |
| December | 46°F | 34°F | 39.8°F | 4.33 | 19 | <1 | 13 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 43°F | 51.2°F | 34.71 | 169 | <1 | 59 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | 1°C | 4.6°C | 114 mm |
| February | 9°C | 1°C | 5.4°C | 72 mm |
| March | 12°C | 3°C | 7.3°C | 85 mm |
| April | 14°C | 5°C | 9.8°C | 70 mm |
| May | 18°C | 8°C | 13.1°C | 57 mm |
| June | 20°C | 11°C | 15.4°C | 41 mm |
| July | 23°C | 13°C | 17.7°C | 22 mm |
| August | 23°C | 13°C | 17.7°C | 29 mm |
| September | 20°C | 10°C | 14.9°C | 51 mm |
| October | 15°C | 6°C | 10.6°C | 98 mm |
| November | 11°C | 3°C | 6.9°C | 132 mm |
| December | 8°C | 1°C | 4.3°C | 110 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. Bellingham's own co-op station Bellingham (3 mi SSW) does: 3 inches of snow in a normal year (see the other stations below).
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024217; 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 Bellingham?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USW00024217.
When is the last frost in Bellingham?
In Bellingham, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 31 in half of years and after April 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 30 in half of years and before October 12 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 311 year in 10 after April 18; 9 in 10 after March 10
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 301 year in 10 before October 12; 9 in 10 before November 17
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 211 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 255 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 4 in half of springs and before November 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Bellingham in zones 8a to 8b across its 2 ZIP code areas (8b in 98225, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Bellingham's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 16°F (27 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Washington · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00024217; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
What hardiness zone is each Bellingham ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Bellingham's 2 ZIP code areas run from zone 8a to 8b: 1 in 8a and 1 in 8b. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Bellingham?
In a normal year in Bellingham, a 90°F day is rare, 59 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 169 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 59a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 4high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 169a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1949) is 100°F, on August 12, 2021; the lowest is −2°F, on January 29, 1950.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1971, with 47.18 in; the snowiest season is 1970–71, with 44.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00024217; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00024217. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Bellingham, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 53°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 55°F; the driest air comes in December (32°F). December is the windiest month (8.3 mph on average), and July has the most clear or nearly clear hours (71%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 77% | 68% | 7.8 mph | 37% | 46% |
| February | 33°F | 72% | 59% | 7.9 mph | 40% | 43% |
| March | 38°F | 73% | 58% | 7.4 mph | 41% | 39% |
| April | 43°F | 72% | 56% | 6.9 mph | 47% | 33% |
| May | 49°F | 73% | 59% | 7.1 mph | 48% | 33% |
| June | 52°F | 73% | 58% | 7.3 mph | 57% | 26% |
| July | 55°F | 74% | 56% | 7.3 mph | 71% | 16% |
| August | 53°F | 76% | 58% | 5.9 mph | 62% | 21% |
| September | 48°F | 80% | 63% | 5.3 mph | 60% | 25% |
| October | 41°F | 79% | 68% | 6.6 mph | 40% | 41% |
| November | 34°F | 78% | 70% | 8.2 mph | 37% | 49% |
| December | 32°F | 79% | 71% | 8.3 mph | 34% | 52% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00024217. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Bellingham?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Bellingham, 3.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (51%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 428th (with 16 others) in sunshine.
| 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 Bellingham need?
A normal year in Bellingham brings 5,110 heating degree days, 5% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 75 cooling degree days, 92% 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 1,765 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 770 | 0 |
| February | 652 | 0 |
| March | 615 | 0 |
| April | 461 | 0 |
| May | 297 | 1 |
| June | 164 | 8 |
| July | 67 | 31 |
| August | 65 | 31 |
| September | 189 | 4 |
| October | 433 | 0 |
| November | 617 | 0 |
| December | 781 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,110 | 75 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024217. 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.
Has Bellingham been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 51.0°F, 0.2°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 51.2°F. 2 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.6°F | +0.4°F | 42.22 |
| 2022 | 50.7°F | −0.5°F | – |
| 2023 | 51.5°F | +0.3°F | – |
| 2024 | 50.7°F | −0.5°F | – |
| 2025 | 51.0°F | −0.2°F | 36.18 |
Over 62 complete years from 1951 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.9°F per century (+0.22°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00024217; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Bellingham's climate compare?
Bellingham is warmer than 64 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 55. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.2°F is warmer than 46%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Bellingham 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 Bellingham share this climate record?
4 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Ferndale, WA16,706 people · 5 mi NW
- Sudden Valley, WA6,963 people · 10 mi SE
- Marietta-Alderwood, WA3,569 people · 1 mi SW
- Geneva, WA2,200 people · 7 mi SE
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Bellingham's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Bellingham. This page uses Bellingham International Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellingham (3 mi SSW) USC00450587 | 3 mi SW | 15 ft | 51.9°F | 35°F | 75°F | 36.0 | 3 | April 1 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Bellingham's climate
What is the coldest month in Bellingham?
December, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is July (73°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Bellingham?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Bellingham's NOAA station; Bellingham's own co-op station Bellingham (3 mi SSW) records 3 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Bellingham?
November, with 5.20 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.88 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Bellingham in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Bellingham in zones 8a to 8b across its 2 ZIP code areas (8b in 98225, the largest). By the same method at Bellingham's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 16°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Bellingham?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 31; in one year in ten it comes after April 18. Waiting until April 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Bellingham in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Clearbrook, WA16 miles from this station, 50.3°F a year
- Blaine, WA17 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Olga (2 mi SE), WA17 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Anacortes, WA20 miles from this station, 52.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made