Cle Elum, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Cle Elum's normal year runs from 22°F December nights to 81°F July afternoons, with 24.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.0°C, December lows of −5°C, July highs of 27°C, 627 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCle Elum
- Station IDUSC00451504
- Location47.19°N 120.91°W
- Elevation1,900 ft (579 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population2,276
On October 23, the normal high in Cle Elum is 54°F and the normal low 32°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Cle Elum.
- Jan 35° 22°
- Feb 41° 24°
- Mar 49° 28°
- Apr 57° 33°
- May 66° 40°
- Jun 72° 47°
- Jul 81° 53°
- Aug 81° 51°
- Sep 73° 43°
- Oct 58° 34°
- Nov 43° 28°
- Dec 34° 22°
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 Cle Elum each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 81°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 22°F. The most precipitation falls in November (4.07 in), the least in August (0.47 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 | 35°F | 22°F | 28.6°F | 3.40 | – | <1 | 28 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 41°F | 24°F | 32.2°F | 2.49 | – | <1 | 24 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 49°F | 28°F | 38.3°F | 2.73 | – | <1 | 23 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 33°F | 45.1°F | 1.41 | – | <1 | 12 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 66°F | 40°F | 53.3°F | 1.64 | – | <1 | 3 | 15 h |
| June | 72°F | 47°F | 59.4°F | 1.10 | – | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 81°F | 53°F | 66.9°F | 0.54 | – | 7 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 81°F | 51°F | 66.3°F | 0.47 | – | 6 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 73°F | 43°F | 57.8°F | 0.90 | – | 1 | 2 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 34°F | 45.9°F | 2.44 | – | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 43°F | 28°F | 35.4°F | 4.07 | – | <1 | 21 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 34°F | 22°F | 28.3°F | 3.50 | – | <1 | 29 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 58°F | 35°F | 46.4°F | 24.69 | – | 15 | 156 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −5°C | −1.9°C | 86 mm |
| February | 5°C | −5°C | 0.1°C | 63 mm |
| March | 9°C | −2°C | 3.5°C | 69 mm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 7.3°C | 36 mm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 11.8°C | 42 mm |
| June | 22°C | 8°C | 15.2°C | 28 mm |
| July | 27°C | 12°C | 19.4°C | 14 mm |
| August | 27°C | 11°C | 19.1°C | 12 mm |
| September | 23°C | 6°C | 14.3°C | 23 mm |
| October | 14°C | 1°C | 7.7°C | 62 mm |
| November | 6°C | −2°C | 1.9°C | 103 mm |
| December | 1°C | −5°C | −2.1°C | 89 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station, and no record within 25 miles keeps one, so snow is left out here rather than estimated.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00451504; 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 Cle Elum?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September.
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 USC00451504.
When is the last frost in Cle Elum?
In Cle Elum, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 13 in half of years and after June 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 25 in half of years and before September 11 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
- May 131 year in 10 after June 1; 9 in 10 after April 29
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 251 year in 10 before September 11; 9 in 10 before October 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 132 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 159 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 28 in half of springs and before October 5 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Cle Elum in zone 7a in ZIP code 98943, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Cle Elum's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (21 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Washington · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00451504; 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 Cle Elum?
In a normal year in Cle Elum, 15 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more) and 156 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 15a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 156a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 26high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1899) is 108°F, on June 30, 2021; the lowest is −33°F, on January 31, 1950.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1958, with 34.81 in; the snowiest season is 1971–72, with 160.6 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00451504; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00451504. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Cle Elum?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Cle Elum, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (54%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.2 |
| February | 64% | 2.1 |
| March | 63% | 3.1 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.7 |
| June | 74% | 6.3 |
| July | 86% | 7.0 |
| August | 85% | 5.9 |
| September | 79% | 4.3 |
| October | 69% | 2.5 |
| November | 58% | 1.3 |
| December | 54% | 0.9 |
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 Cle Elum need?
A normal year in Cle Elum brings 6,991 heating degree days, 30% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 250 cooling degree days, 72% 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 1,759 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,128 | 0 |
| February | 920 | 0 |
| March | 826 | 0 |
| April | 597 | 0 |
| May | 368 | 4 |
| June | 195 | 25 |
| July | 54 | 113 |
| August | 55 | 93 |
| September | 231 | 15 |
| October | 594 | 0 |
| November | 887 | 0 |
| December | 1,138 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,991 | 250 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00451504. 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 Cle Elum been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 47.8°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 46.4°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47.8°F | +1.4°F | 20.46 |
| 2023 | 48.1°F | +1.7°F | 13.25 |
| 2024 | 47.8°F | +1.4°F | 17.09 |
Over 78 complete years from 1901 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.5°F per century (+0.08°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00451504; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Cle Elum's climate compare?
Cle Elum is warmer than 9 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 47. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 46.4°F is warmer than 25%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Cle Elum is Dsb: continental, 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 Cle Elum share this climate record?
3 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.
- South Cle Elum, WA572 people · 2 mi W
- Ronald, WA248 people · 6 mi NW
- Cliffdell, WA29 people · 19 mi S
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 Cle Elum's climate
What is the coldest month in Cle Elum?
December, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 22°F. The warmest is July (81°F by day, 53°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Cle Elum?
November, with 4.07 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.47 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Cle Elum in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Cle Elum in zone 7a in ZIP code 98943, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Cle Elum's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −1°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Cle Elum?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 13; in one year in ten it comes after June 1. Waiting until June 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Cle Elum in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Easton, WA14 miles from this station, 45.2°F a year
- Stampede Pass, WA21 miles from this station, 42.4°F a year
- Ellensburg, WA21 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Leavenworth, WA28 miles from this station, 47.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made