Elma, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Elma's normal year runs from 34°F December nights to 80°F August afternoons, with 72.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.3°C, December lows of 1°C, August highs of 26°C, 1,830 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationElma
- Station IDUSC00452531
- Location47.01°N 123.40°W
- Elevation70 ft (21 m)
- Population3,515
On October 22, the normal high in Elma is 61°F and the normal low 40°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 64%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Elma.
- Jan 49° 35°
- Feb 52° 34°
- Mar 56° 36°
- Apr 62° 39°
- May 68° 44°
- Jun 72° 48°
- Jul 78° 52°
- Aug 80° 52°
- Sep 75° 48°
- Oct 64° 41°
- Nov 53° 37°
- Dec 47° 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 Elma each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 80°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in November (11.39 in), the least in July (0.79 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49°F | 35°F | 41.6°F | 11.13 | 23 | <1 | 13 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 52°F | 34°F | 42.9°F | 7.04 | 19 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 56°F | 36°F | 46.3°F | 8.16 | 22 | <1 | 10 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 39°F | 50.4°F | 5.36 | 20 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 68°F | 44°F | 56.3°F | 3.29 | 14 | <1 | 2 | 15 h |
| June | 72°F | 48°F | 60.3°F | 2.18 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 78°F | 52°F | 65.1°F | 0.79 | 5 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 80°F | 52°F | 65.5°F | 1.43 | 7 | 4 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 75°F | 48°F | 61.4°F | 2.67 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 64°F | 41°F | 52.6°F | 7.23 | 19 | <1 | 4 | 11 h |
| November | 53°F | 37°F | 44.7°F | 11.39 | 23 | <1 | 10 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 47°F | 34°F | 40.6°F | 11.37 | 23 | <1 | 13 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 42°F | 52.3°F | 72.04 | 196 | 10 | 69 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | 1°C | 5.3°C | 283 mm |
| February | 11°C | 1°C | 6.1°C | 179 mm |
| March | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 207 mm |
| April | 17°C | 4°C | 10.2°C | 136 mm |
| May | 20°C | 7°C | 13.5°C | 84 mm |
| June | 22°C | 9°C | 15.7°C | 55 mm |
| July | 26°C | 11°C | 18.4°C | 20 mm |
| August | 26°C | 11°C | 18.6°C | 36 mm |
| September | 24°C | 9°C | 16.3°C | 68 mm |
| October | 18°C | 5°C | 11.4°C | 184 mm |
| November | 12°C | 3°C | 7.1°C | 289 mm |
| December | 9°C | 1°C | 4.8°C | 289 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Matlock (8 mi S) (9 miles away), gets 2 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00452531; 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 Elma?
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 (5).
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 USC00452531.
When is the last frost in Elma?
In Elma, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 1 in half of years and after May 19 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 14 in half of years and before September 29 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 11 year in 10 after May 19; 9 in 10 after April 11
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 141 year in 10 before September 29; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 169 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 212 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 3 in half of springs and before November 2 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Elma in zone 8b in ZIP code 98583, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Elma's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 16°F (30 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 USC00452531; 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 Elma?
In a normal year in Elma, 10 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 69 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 196 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 69a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 196a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1896) is 110°F, on June 28, 2021; the lowest is 0°F, on January 31, 1950.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2012, with 87.90 in; the snowiest season is 1971–72, with 27.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00452531; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00452531. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Elma?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Elma, 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 Elma need?
A normal year in Elma brings 4,780 heating degree days, 11% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 171 cooling degree days, 81% 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 2,043 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 725 | 0 |
| February | 619 | 0 |
| March | 580 | 0 |
| April | 437 | 1 |
| May | 276 | 6 |
| June | 157 | 18 |
| July | 57 | 59 |
| August | 47 | 64 |
| September | 131 | 23 |
| October | 387 | 1 |
| November | 608 | 0 |
| December | 756 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,780 | 171 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00452531. 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 Elma been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 54.4°F, 2.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 52.3°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53.5°F | +1.2°F | 80.03 |
| 2022 | 53.0°F | +0.7°F | 69.99 |
| 2023 | 53.7°F | +1.4°F | 56.30 |
| 2024 | 53.8°F | +1.5°F | 74.71 |
| 2025 | 54.4°F | +2.1°F | 64.48 |
Over 59 complete years from 1941 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.0°F per century (+0.06°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00452531; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Elma's climate compare?
Elma is warmer than 80 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 79. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 52.3°F is warmer than 51%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Elma 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 Elma share this climate record?
7 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.
- Montesano, WA4,194 people · 9 mi W
- McCleary, WA2,059 people · 7 mi NE
- Brady, WA789 people · 7 mi W
- Oakville, WA735 people · 14 mi SE
- Satsop, WA717 people · 4 mi W
- Malone, WA338 people · 5 mi E
- Porter, WA130 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.
Questions about Elma's climate
What is the coldest month in Elma?
December, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is August (80°F by day, 52°F at night).
Does it snow in Elma?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Elma's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Matlock (8 mi S) (9 miles away), records 2 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Elma?
November, with 11.39 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.79 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Elma in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Elma in zone 8b in ZIP code 98583, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Elma's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 16°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Elma?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 1; in one year in ten it comes after May 19. Waiting until May 19 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Matlock (8 mi S), WA9 miles from this station, 51.1°F a year
- Shelton, WA20 miles from this station, 51.4°F a year
- Aberdeen, WA21 miles from this station, 51.4°F a year
- Olympia, WA24 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