Buckley, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Buckley's normal year runs from 33°F December nights to 77°F July afternoons, with 48.3 inches of precipitation and 4 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.5°C, December lows of 1°C, July highs of 25°C, 1,227 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationBuckley (1 mi NE)
- Station IDUSC00450945
- Location47.17°N 122.00°W
- Elevation685 ft (209 m)
- Population5,641
On October 22, the normal high in Buckley is 57°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 53%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Buckley.
- Jan 47° 34°
- Feb 50° 34°
- Mar 53° 36°
- Apr 58° 39°
- May 65° 44°
- Jun 70° 48°
- Jul 77° 52°
- Aug 77° 52°
- Sep 72° 47°
- Oct 60° 42°
- Nov 51° 37°
- Dec 46° 33°
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 Buckley each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 77°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 33°F. The most precipitation falls in November (6.82 in), the least in July (1.08 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F | 34°F | 40.5°F | 5.91 | 0.2 | 19 | <1 | 11 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 50°F | 34°F | 41.7°F | 4.74 | 1.3 | 15 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 53°F | 36°F | 44.6°F | 5.22 | 0.2 | 20 | <1 | 7 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 39°F | 48.5°F | 4.24 | 0.0 | 18 | <1 | 2 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 65°F | 44°F | 54.5°F | 3.51 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 15 h |
| June | 70°F | 48°F | 58.8°F | 2.93 | 0.0 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 77°F | 52°F | 64.2°F | 1.08 | 0.0 | 6 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 77°F | 52°F | 64.2°F | 1.21 | 0.0 | 6 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 72°F | 47°F | 59.4°F | 2.35 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 60°F | 42°F | 50.7°F | 4.66 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | 2 | 11 h |
| November | 51°F | 37°F | 44.1°F | 6.82 | 1.5 | 19 | <1 | 6 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 46°F | 33°F | 39.6°F | 5.64 | 1.1 | 18 | <1 | 12 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 41°F | 50.9°F | 48.31 | 4.3 | 174 | 4 | 50 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | 1°C | 4.7°C | 150 mm | 1 cm |
| February | 10°C | 1°C | 5.4°C | 120 mm | 3 cm |
| March | 12°C | 2°C | 7.0°C | 133 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 15°C | 4°C | 9.2°C | 108 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 18°C | 7°C | 12.5°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 21°C | 9°C | 14.9°C | 74 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 25°C | 11°C | 17.9°C | 27 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 25°C | 11°C | 17.9°C | 31 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 22°C | 8°C | 15.2°C | 60 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 5°C | 10.4°C | 118 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 11°C | 3°C | 6.7°C | 173 mm | 4 cm |
| December | 8°C | 1°C | 4.2°C | 143 mm | 3 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00450945; 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 Buckley?
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 (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 USC00450945.
When is the last frost in Buckley?
In Buckley, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 7 in half of years and after April 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 30 in half of years and before October 8 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
- April 71 year in 10 after April 27; 9 in 10 after March 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 301 year in 10 before October 8; 9 in 10 before November 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 204 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 258 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 8 in half of springs and before November 21 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Buckley in zone 8b in ZIP code 98321. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Buckley's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 17°F (20 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 USC00450945; 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.
How hot and how cold does it get in Buckley?
In a normal year in Buckley, 4 days a year reach 90°F, 50 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 174 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 50a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 174a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 2a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1913) is 103°F, on August 10, 1981; the lowest is −3°F, on January 18, 1950.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1933, with 68.05 in; the snowiest season is 1949–50, with 53.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00450945; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00450945. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Buckley?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Buckley, 3.4 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (51%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 52% | 1.0 |
| February | 60% | 1.9 |
| March | 58% | 2.9 |
| April | 63% | 4.2 |
| May | 66% | 5.3 |
| June | 68% | 5.7 |
| July | 78% | 6.3 |
| August | 78% | 5.4 |
| September | 74% | 3.9 |
| October | 63% | 2.3 |
| November | 54% | 1.2 |
| 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 Buckley need?
A normal year in Buckley brings 5,241 heating degree days, 2% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 119 cooling degree days, 87% fewer than the median (908). Eight months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,741 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 760 | 0 |
| February | 651 | 0 |
| March | 634 | 0 |
| April | 494 | 0 |
| May | 326 | 2 |
| June | 200 | 12 |
| July | 74 | 49 |
| August | 70 | 45 |
| September | 178 | 10 |
| October | 444 | 0 |
| November | 626 | 0 |
| December | 786 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,241 | 119 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00450945. 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 Buckley's climate compare?
Buckley is warmer than 55 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 65. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.9°F is warmer than 44%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Buckley 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 Buckley share this climate record?
5 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.
- Enumclaw, WA13,173 people · 2 mi N
- Prairie Heights, WA4,817 people · 5 mi W
- Carbonado, WA737 people · 6 mi S
- Wilkeson, WA488 people · 5 mi SW
- South Prairie, WA367 people · 5 mi SW
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 Buckley's climate
What is the coldest month in Buckley?
December, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 33°F. The warmest is July (77°F by day, 52°F at night).
Does it snow in Buckley?
Yes: 4 inches in a normal year, falling on 2 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in November (1.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Buckley?
November, with 6.82 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 1.08 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Buckley in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Buckley in zone 8b in ZIP code 98321. By the same method at Buckley's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 17°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Buckley?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 7; in one year in ten it comes after April 27. Waiting until April 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Mud Mountain Dam, WA4 miles from this station, 49.9°F a year
- Palmer (3 mi ESE), WA12 miles from this station, 50.4°F a year
- McMillin, WA12 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Landsburg, WA14 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made