Ellensburg, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Ellensburg's normal year runs from 24°F December nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 9.2 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.1°C, December lows of −5°C, July highs of 30°C, 233 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEllensburg Bowers Field
- Station IDUSW00024220
- Location47.03°N 120.53°W
- Elevation1,766 ft (538 m)
- Population20,996
On October 23, the normal high in Ellensburg is 58°F and the normal low 35°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 29%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ellensburg.
- Jan 37° 24°
- Feb 44° 27°
- Mar 53° 31°
- Apr 61° 37°
- May 71° 45°
- Jun 77° 51°
- Jul 86° 57°
- Aug 87° 56°
- Sep 78° 47°
- Oct 62° 37°
- Nov 47° 29°
- Dec 36° 24°
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 Ellensburg each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in December (1.54 in), the least in August (0.17 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 | 37°F | 24°F | 30.4°F | 1.23 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 44°F | 27°F | 35.5°F | 0.78 | 10 | <1 | 23 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 53°F | 31°F | 42.1°F | 0.81 | 9 | <1 | 20 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 37°F | 49.0°F | 0.68 | 7 | <1 | 9 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 71°F | 45°F | 57.9°F | 0.92 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 15 h |
| June | 77°F | 51°F | 64.1°F | 0.55 | 5 | 4 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 86°F | 57°F | 71.6°F | 0.23 | 2 | 14 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 87°F | 56°F | 71.2°F | 0.17 | 2 | 12 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 78°F | 47°F | 62.2°F | 0.37 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 62°F | 37°F | 49.6°F | 0.83 | 8 | <1 | 10 | 11 h |
| November | 47°F | 29°F | 37.6°F | 1.05 | 11 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 36°F | 24°F | 30.1°F | 1.54 | 12 | <1 | 27 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 39°F | 50.1°F | 9.16 | 87 | 34 | 139 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −4°C | −0.9°C | 31 mm |
| February | 7°C | −3°C | 1.9°C | 20 mm |
| March | 12°C | −1°C | 5.6°C | 21 mm |
| April | 16°C | 3°C | 9.4°C | 17 mm |
| May | 22°C | 7°C | 14.4°C | 23 mm |
| June | 25°C | 11°C | 17.8°C | 14 mm |
| July | 30°C | 14°C | 22.0°C | 6 mm |
| August | 30°C | 13°C | 21.8°C | 4 mm |
| September | 25°C | 8°C | 16.8°C | 9 mm |
| October | 17°C | 3°C | 9.8°C | 21 mm |
| November | 8°C | −2°C | 3.1°C | 27 mm |
| December | 2°C | −5°C | −1.1°C | 39 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 USW00024220; 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 Ellensburg?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (3).
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 USW00024220.
When is the last frost in Ellensburg?
In Ellensburg, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 28 in half of years and after May 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 7 in half of years and before September 26 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 281 year in 10 after May 12; 9 in 10 after April 13
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 71 year in 10 before September 26; 9 in 10 before October 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 163 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 191 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 11 in half of springs and before October 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ellensburg in zone 6b in ZIP code 98934, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Ellensburg's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (20 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 USW00024220; 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 Ellensburg?
In a normal year in Ellensburg, 34 days a year reach 90°F (5 of them 100°F or more), 139 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 87 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 34a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 5a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 139a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 22high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 87a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1940) is 114°F, on June 29, 2021; the lowest is −29°F, on January 26, 1957.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1948, with 14.12 in; the snowiest season is 1955–56, with 79.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00024220; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00024220. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Ellensburg?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Ellensburg, 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 Ellensburg need?
A normal year in Ellensburg brings 5,970 heating degree days, 11% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 568 cooling degree days, 37% 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 2,532 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,074 | 0 |
| February | 826 | 0 |
| March | 710 | 0 |
| April | 482 | 0 |
| May | 239 | 20 |
| June | 95 | 70 |
| July | 17 | 222 |
| August | 16 | 207 |
| September | 131 | 47 |
| October | 478 | 1 |
| November | 820 | 0 |
| December | 1,082 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,970 | 568 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024220. 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 Ellensburg been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 51.5°F, 1.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.1°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.5°F | +1.4°F | 6.43 |
| 2022 | 49.3°F | −0.8°F | 9.25 |
| 2023 | 51.6°F | +1.5°F | 6.37 |
| 2024 | 51.4°F | +1.3°F | 8.60 |
| 2025 | 51.5°F | +1.4°F | 8.49 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00024220. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ellensburg's climate compare?
Ellensburg is warmer than 41 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 13. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.1°F is warmer than 40%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Ellensburg is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Ellensburg share this climate record?
2 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.
- Kittitas, WA1,445 people · 6 mi SE
- Thorp, WA129 people · 7 mi W
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 Ellensburg's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Ellensburg. This page uses Ellensburg Bowers Field; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ellensburg station USC00452505 | 4 mi S | 1,480 ft | 47.7°F | 20°F | 85°F | 9.0 | – | May 8 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Ellensburg's climate
What is the coldest month in Ellensburg?
December, with a normal high of 36°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 57°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Ellensburg?
December, with 1.54 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.17 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Ellensburg in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ellensburg in zone 6b in ZIP code 98934, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Ellensburg's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 0°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Ellensburg?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 28; in one year in ten it comes after May 12. Waiting until May 12 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Ellensburg in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cle Elum, WA21 miles from this station, 46.4°F a year
- Selah, WA25 miles from this station, 49.2°F a year
- Wenatchee, WA29 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Yakima, WA32 miles from this station, 50.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made