Eltopia (8 mi WSW), Washington climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Eltopia (8 mi WSW)'s normal year runs from 27°F December nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 10.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.1°C, December lows of −3°C, July highs of 30°C, 255 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationEltopia (8 mi WSW)
- Station IDUSC00452542
- Location46.40°N 119.16°W
- Elevation700 ft (213 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Eltopia (8 mi WSW) is 59°F and the normal low 38°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Eltopia (8 mi WSW).
- Jan 40° 27°
- Feb 47° 29°
- Mar 57° 33°
- Apr 64° 39°
- May 73° 46°
- Jun 79° 51°
- Jul 86° 57°
- Aug 85° 57°
- Sep 77° 49°
- Oct 63° 40°
- Nov 48° 32°
- Dec 39° 27°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Eltopia (8 mi WSW) each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 86°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in December (1.73 in), the least in August (0.20 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 27°F | 33.3°F | 1.36 | 13 | <1 | 23 | 9 h |
| February | 47°F | 29°F | 38.0°F | 0.96 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 57°F | 33°F | 45.1°F | 0.73 | 8 | <1 | 14 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 64°F | 39°F | 51.5°F | 0.80 | 9 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 73°F | 46°F | 59.5°F | 0.91 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 15 h |
| June | 79°F | 51°F | 65.0°F | 0.77 | 5 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 86°F | 57°F | 71.4°F | 0.26 | 3 | 10 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| August | 85°F | 57°F | 70.9°F | 0.20 | 2 | 9 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 77°F | 49°F | 63.0°F | 0.39 | 3 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 63°F | 40°F | 51.6°F | 0.87 | 7 | <1 | 4 | 11 h |
| November | 48°F | 32°F | 40.1°F | 1.06 | 12 | <1 | 16 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 39°F | 27°F | 33.0°F | 1.73 | 14 | <1 | 24 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 63°F | 41°F | 51.9°F | 10.04 | 91 | 22 | 105 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C | −3°C | 0.7°C | 35 mm |
| February | 8°C | −1°C | 3.3°C | 24 mm |
| March | 14°C | 1°C | 7.3°C | 19 mm |
| April | 18°C | 4°C | 10.8°C | 20 mm |
| May | 23°C | 8°C | 15.3°C | 23 mm |
| June | 26°C | 11°C | 18.3°C | 20 mm |
| July | 30°C | 14°C | 21.9°C | 7 mm |
| August | 30°C | 14°C | 21.6°C | 5 mm |
| September | 25°C | 10°C | 17.2°C | 10 mm |
| October | 17°C | 5°C | 10.9°C | 22 mm |
| November | 9°C | 0°C | 4.5°C | 27 mm |
| December | 4°C | −3°C | 0.6°C | 44 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Ice Harbor Dam (17 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 USC00452542; 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.
Which months are mildest at Eltopia (8 mi WSW)?
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 USC00452542.
When is the last frost at Eltopia (8 mi WSW)?
In Eltopia (8 mi WSW), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 21 in half of years and after May 6 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 22 in half of years and before October 7 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 211 year in 10 after May 6; 9 in 10 after April 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 221 year in 10 before October 7; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 182 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 215 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 30 in half of springs and before November 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Eltopia (8 mi WSW) in zone 7a in ZIP code 99330, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (15 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 USC00452542; 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 at Eltopia (8 mi WSW)?
In a normal year in Eltopia (8 mi WSW), 22 days a year reach 90°F, 105 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 91 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 22a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 105a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 18high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 91a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1974) is 104°F, on July 23, 2006; the lowest is −15°F, on January 5, 2004.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1995, with 14.11 in; the snowiest season is 1993–94, with 6.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00452542; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00452542. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Eltopia (8 mi WSW)?
Over a year 81% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Eltopia (8 mi WSW), 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (94%) and December the cloudiest (55%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.2 |
| February | 69% | 2.3 |
| March | 72% | 3.6 |
| April | 79% | 5.4 |
| May | 81% | 6.5 |
| June | 85% | 7.2 |
| July | 94% | 7.7 |
| August | 92% | 6.4 |
| September | 87% | 4.7 |
| October | 79% | 3.0 |
| November | 65% | 1.6 |
| December | 55% | 1.0 |
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 many heating and cooling degree days does Eltopia (8 mi WSW) record?
A normal year at Eltopia (8 mi WSW) brings 5,309 heating degree days, 1% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 543 cooling degree days, 40% 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 2,688 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 984 | 0 |
| February | 756 | 0 |
| March | 617 | 0 |
| April | 407 | 1 |
| May | 196 | 25 |
| June | 67 | 65 |
| July | 10 | 209 |
| August | 13 | 197 |
| September | 104 | 45 |
| October | 415 | 1 |
| November | 748 | 0 |
| December | 992 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,309 | 543 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00452542. 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 Eltopia (8 mi WSW)'s climate compare?
Eltopia (8 mi WSW) is warmer than 78 of the 96 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 14. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.9°F is warmer than 49%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Eltopia (8 mi WSW) 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 Eltopia (8 mi WSW) share this climate record?
Basin City has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its 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.
- Basin City, WA1,527 people · 13 mi N
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 Eltopia (8 mi WSW)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Eltopia (8 mi WSW)?
December, with a normal high of 39°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow at Eltopia (8 mi WSW)?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Ice Harbor Dam (17 miles away), records 2 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month at Eltopia (8 mi WSW)?
December, with 1.73 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.20 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Eltopia (8 mi WSW) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Eltopia (8 mi WSW) in zone 7a in ZIP code 99330, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 7°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come at Eltopia (8 mi WSW)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 21; in one year in ten it comes after May 6. Waiting until May 6 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sagemoor, WA4 miles from this station, 52.0°F a year
- Richland, WA8 miles from this station, 53.6°F a year
- Pasco, WA9 miles from this station, 53.3°F a year
- Kennewick, WA13 miles from this station, 55.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made