Chelan, WA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Chelan's primary NOAA station, CHELAN.
The climate verdict for Chelan
Dryness leads the climate profile for Chelan, Washington, with 12.0 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 50°F. At 53/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 31% of scores.
- 50°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 53/100
- comfort score, above 31% of station-mapped location scores
- 12.0"
- annual precipitation · 21" snow
- 188 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Chelan: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00451350 · Chelan, WA 50°F mean · 12.0" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 50°F
- RANK-MID #2,744
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Belvidere Brg
- PRCP-ARID 12.0"
- SWING-MID 45°F
- COMF-LOW 53/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,037 HDD
- STN-1 USC00451350
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Belvidere Brg, NJ (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every WA station list.
- Chelan (this station) 50°F
- Hot Portland1 SW, NY 50°F
- Near Belvidere Brg, NJ 50°F
- Near Sussex, NJ 50°F
- Near Millersburg, OH 50°F
Climate Living Index · Chelan
Chelan: 43/100 · grade D
Chelan publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Chelan, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 53/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Frost-free season | 188 days/year | 56/100 · C |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 138 calendar days | 54/100 · D |
| Snowfall burden | 20.5 inches/year | 48/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 50.1°F · 17.4° from 67.5°F | 41/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 12.0 in · 23.0 from 35 in | 18/100 · F |
Chelan · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Chelan's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 72.8°F
- Coldest month
- 28.0°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Chelan sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Chelan's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 40th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 90%
- Chelan's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 57th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Chelan compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Chelan's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
53 31st percentile score exceeds 31% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Chelan's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 52 complete annual observations from 1959 to 2025, CHELAN warmed at a fitted rate of 0.23°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Chelan primary station fitted change +0.23 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F (1°C) | 22°F (-6°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 1.5" | 7.7" | 27.6 | 0.0 |
| February | 42°F (5°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 1.2" | 2.0" | 22.2 | 0.0 |
| March | 52°F (11°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 1.1" | 0.7" | 13.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 62°F (17°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 0.8" | 0.0" | 1.8 | 0.0 |
| May | 72°F (22°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 1.1" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| June | 78°F (26°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 65°F (19°C) | 0.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 2.7 |
| July | 87°F (30°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 0.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 10.0 |
| August | 87°F (31°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 0.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 10.9 |
| September | 77°F (25°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 0.3" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 1.4 |
| October | 62°F (17°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 1.0" | 0.0" | 1.9 | 0.0 |
| November | 46°F (8°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 1.5" | 1.4" | 15.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 35°F (2°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 1.8" | 8.7" | 27.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 90°F around July 30, short of 90°F on every date, while 138 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 21°F near January 1.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 22, then returns to freezing around November 6, covering 138 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is December 27, when 32% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 19 at 6%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 71 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 18 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 29°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Chelan.
Where Chelan Stands Nationally
A drier-than-most normal water year — around 12 inches, below what four out of five ranked stations collect.
Chelan earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 7.7"
9.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.0"
7.2 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.7"
7.1 days with precipitation
5.1 days with precipitation
6.2 days with precipitation
4.6 days with precipitation
2.7 days with precipitation
2.0 days with precipitation
2.4 days with precipitation
6.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.4"
8.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.7"
9.5 days with precipitation
Chelan's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 38% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 13%. That is the cool-season-dominant pattern of the West Coast and the higher inland West, where storm tracks swing south in winter and summer turns dry; the thermometer meanwhile shows a 44.8°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- December, 1.8"
- Driest month
- August, 0.3"
- Wettest three months
- December, January, November (41% of the year)
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A cool-season label means the December-February share reaches 35%. Where snow falls, the monthly figures above report liquid-equivalent precipitation, so a wet winter month is not necessarily a rainy one.
Chelan is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 71 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 19% of the calendar, and they carry 12.0" between them. At roughly 0.17 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is December at about 10 wet days; the driest is August at about 2.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Winter brings real snow to Chelan
Chelan averages 20.5 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 15 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 20.5 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 15 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 17% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 22
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 17
50% probability date
Growing Season
188 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,037
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
652
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WA closest to Chelan on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (50°F here).
- Akron, CO 50°F · 0.0°F off
- Ansonia, CT 50°F · 0.0°F off
- Austin, NV 50°F · 0.0°F off
- Banner Elk, NC 50°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (12.0" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Williams, AZ 12.0" · 0.0" off
- Jackson, MT 11.9" · 0.0" off
- Kaycee, WY 11.9" · 0.0" off
- Thermopolis, WY 11.9" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Chelan
heating led · dry · mid swing
Chelan's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,037 annual heating degree days against 652 for cooling. Its 44.8°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Chelan's frost-free season lasts about 188 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Chelan coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 28°F (-2°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Chelan typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Chelan snow peak
December
Chelan averages 20.5 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Chelan's climate
How much snow does Chelan get? ▼
How cold does Chelan get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Chelan? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Chelan's primary station: CHELAN (USC00451350). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 5311615). Match rule for Chelan: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Chelan comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.