Forks, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Forks's normal year runs from 34°F December nights to 74°F August afternoons, with 119.9 inches of precipitation and 8 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.2°C, December lows of 1°C, August highs of 23°C, 3,046 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationForks (1 mi E)
- Station IDUSC00452914
- Location47.96°N 124.35°W
- Elevation350 ft (107 m)
- Population3,433
On October 23, the normal high in Forks is 57°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 65%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Forks.
- Jan 47° 35°
- Feb 50° 34°
- Mar 53° 36°
- Apr 59° 38°
- May 65° 43°
- Jun 68° 47°
- Jul 73° 50°
- Aug 74° 51°
- Sep 70° 47°
- Oct 60° 42°
- Nov 51° 38°
- Dec 46° 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 Forks each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 74°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 34°F. The most precipitation falls in January (19.10 in), the least in July (2.05 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47°F | 35°F | 40.7°F | 19.10 | 3.1 | 23 | <1 | 12 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 50°F | 34°F | 42.0°F | 11.69 | 1.3 | 20 | <1 | 12 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 53°F | 36°F | 44.4°F | 14.31 | 0.5 | 23 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 38°F | 48.3°F | 9.43 | 0.1 | 20 | <1 | 5 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 65°F | 43°F | 53.6°F | 4.96 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | 1 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 68°F | 47°F | 57.5°F | 3.69 | 0.0 | 16 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 73°F | 50°F | 61.6°F | 2.05 | 0.0 | 10 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 74°F | 51°F | 62.3°F | 2.77 | 0.0 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 70°F | 47°F | 58.8°F | 4.77 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 60°F | 42°F | 51.2°F | 11.71 | 0.0 | 19 | <1 | 2 | 11 h |
| November | 51°F | 38°F | 44.0°F | 18.07 | 1.0 | 23 | <1 | 7 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 46°F | 34°F | 39.8°F | 17.39 | 1.9 | 24 | <1 | 13 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 60°F | 41°F | 50.4°F | 119.94 | 7.9 | 215 | 4 | 60 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | 1°C | 4.8°C | 485 mm | 8 cm |
| February | 10°C | 1°C | 5.6°C | 297 mm | 3 cm |
| March | 12°C | 2°C | 6.9°C | 363 mm | 1 cm |
| April | 15°C | 3°C | 9.1°C | 240 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 18°C | 6°C | 12.0°C | 126 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 20°C | 8°C | 14.2°C | 94 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23°C | 10°C | 16.4°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 23°C | 10°C | 16.8°C | 70 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 9°C | 14.9°C | 121 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 16°C | 6°C | 10.7°C | 297 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 10°C | 3°C | 6.7°C | 459 mm | 3 cm |
| December | 8°C | 1°C | 4.3°C | 442 mm | 5 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00452914; 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 Forks?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00452914.
When is the last frost in Forks?
In Forks, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 26 in half of years and after May 10 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 25 in half of years and before October 6 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 261 year in 10 after May 10; 9 in 10 after April 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 251 year in 10 before October 6; 9 in 10 before November 15
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 182 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 231 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 27 in half of springs and before November 15 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Forks in zone 8b in ZIP code 98305, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Forks's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 20°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 USC00452914; 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 Forks?
In a normal year in Forks, 4 days a year reach 90°F, 60 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 215 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 4a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 60a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 215a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 4a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1907) is 110°F, on June 28, 2021; the lowest is 3°F, on January 31, 1917.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1997, with 162.22 in; the snowiest season is 1964–65, with 53.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00452914; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00452914. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Forks?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Forks, 3.4 kWh per square metre a day. September is the sunniest month (73%) and January the cloudiest (54%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 54% | 1.0 |
| February | 62% | 1.9 |
| March | 62% | 3.0 |
| April | 66% | 4.3 |
| May | 67% | 5.2 |
| June | 68% | 5.7 |
| July | 71% | 5.7 |
| August | 72% | 4.9 |
| September | 73% | 3.9 |
| October | 65% | 2.3 |
| 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 Forks need?
A normal year in Forks brings 5,384 heating degree days, 0% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 56 cooling degree days, 94% 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 1,507 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 752 | 0 |
| February | 645 | 0 |
| March | 637 | 0 |
| April | 501 | 0 |
| May | 356 | 2 |
| June | 233 | 8 |
| July | 124 | 20 |
| August | 105 | 20 |
| September | 194 | 6 |
| October | 428 | 0 |
| November | 629 | 0 |
| December | 781 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,384 | 56 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00452914. 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 Forks been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 51.1°F, 0.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.4°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50.5°F | +0.1°F | 141.82 | – |
| 2022 | 50.5°F | +0.1°F | 107.34 | – |
| 2023 | 51.0°F | +0.6°F | 102.71 | – |
| 2024 | 51.1°F | +0.7°F | 122.99 | 0.5 |
| 2025 | 51.1°F | +0.7°F | 118.01 | 14.5 |
Over 82 complete years from 1915 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.4°F per century (+0.07°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00452914; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Forks's climate compare?
Forks is warmer than 45 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 90. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 50.4°F is warmer than 42%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Forks is Cfb: temperate, no dry season, 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 Forks 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.
- Clallam Bay, WA709 people · 21 mi N
- Sekiu, WA0 people · 21 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 Forks's climate
What is the coldest month in Forks?
December, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 34°F. The warmest is August (74°F by day, 51°F at night).
Does it snow in Forks?
Yes: 8 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (3.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Forks?
January, with 19.10 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 2.05 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Forks in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Forks in zone 8b in ZIP code 98305, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Forks's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 20°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Forks?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 26; in one year in ten it comes after May 10. Waiting until May 10 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Quillayute State Airport, WA9 miles from this station, 49.5°F a year
- Clearwater, WA27 miles from this station, 50.4°F a year
- Elwha Ranger Station, WA35 miles from this station, 48.7°F a year
- Quinault (4 mi NE), WA40 miles from this station, 50.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made