Goldendale, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Goldendale's normal year runs from 24°F December nights to 86°F July afternoons, with 16.5 inches of precipitation and 27 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 8.9°C, December lows of −5°C, July highs of 30°C, 419 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGoldendale
- Station IDUSC00453222
- Location45.81°N 120.84°W
- Elevation1,640 ft (500 m)
- Population3,525
On October 23, the normal high in Goldendale is 58°F and the normal low 32°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 34%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Goldendale.
- Jan 38° 24°
- Feb 44° 25°
- Mar 52° 29°
- Apr 59° 33°
- May 69° 39°
- Jun 76° 45°
- Jul 86° 50°
- Aug 86° 49°
- Sep 77° 42°
- Oct 62° 34°
- Nov 47° 28°
- Dec 37° 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 Goldendale 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 (3.18 in), the least in July (0.12 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F | 24°F | 30.9°F | 2.75 | 10.2 | 14 | <1 | 26 | 9 h |
| February | 44°F | 25°F | 34.5°F | 1.78 | 3.5 | 11 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 52°F | 29°F | 40.5°F | 1.61 | 0.6 | 11 | <1 | 20 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 59°F | 33°F | 45.9°F | 1.09 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 69°F | 39°F | 54.0°F | 1.04 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 76°F | 45°F | 60.1°F | 0.55 | 0.0 | 4 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| July | 86°F | 50°F | 67.9°F | 0.12 | 0.0 | 1 | 14 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 86°F | 49°F | 67.6°F | 0.15 | 0.0 | 2 | 14 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 77°F | 42°F | 59.5°F | 0.44 | 0.0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 62°F | 34°F | 47.9°F | 1.36 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 12 | 11 h |
| November | 47°F | 28°F | 37.3°F | 2.43 | 2.7 | 13 | <1 | 19 | 9 h 30 min |
| December | 37°F | 24°F | 30.4°F | 3.18 | 9.6 | 15 | <1 | 27 | 8 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 61°F | 35°F | 48.0°F | 16.50 | 26.6 | 101 | 35 | 144 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3°C | −5°C | −0.6°C | 70 mm | 26 cm |
| February | 7°C | −4°C | 1.4°C | 45 mm | 9 cm |
| March | 11°C | −2°C | 4.7°C | 41 mm | 2 cm |
| April | 15°C | 0°C | 7.7°C | 28 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 20°C | 4°C | 12.2°C | 26 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 24°C | 7°C | 15.6°C | 14 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 30°C | 10°C | 19.9°C | 3 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 10°C | 19.8°C | 4 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 25°C | 5°C | 15.3°C | 11 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 17°C | 1°C | 8.8°C | 35 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 8°C | −2°C | 2.9°C | 62 mm | 7 cm |
| December | 3°C | −5°C | −0.9°C | 81 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00453222; 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 Goldendale?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June and September. Of those, September has the fewest days with rain (4).
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 USC00453222.
When is the last frost in Goldendale?
In Goldendale, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 19 in half of years and after June 9 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 25 in half of years and before September 8 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 191 year in 10 after June 9; 9 in 10 after May 2
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 251 year in 10 before September 8; 9 in 10 before October 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 126 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 159 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 7 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Goldendale in zone 7a in ZIP code 98620, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Goldendale's NOAA station is in zone 7a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (21 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 USC00453222; 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 Goldendale?
In a normal year in Goldendale, 35 days a year reach 90°F (6 of them 100°F or more), 144 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 101 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 35a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 6a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 144a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 18high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 101a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 9a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1905) is 113°F, on June 30, 2021; the lowest is −26°F, on January 26, 1957.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 29.57 in; the snowiest season is 1949–50, with 68.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00453222; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00453222. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Goldendale?
Over a year 79% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Goldendale, 4.2 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (93%) and December the cloudiest (56%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 57% | 1.3 |
| February | 66% | 2.3 |
| March | 68% | 3.5 |
| April | 75% | 5.1 |
| May | 78% | 6.3 |
| June | 83% | 7.1 |
| July | 93% | 7.7 |
| August | 91% | 6.5 |
| September | 86% | 4.8 |
| October | 76% | 3.0 |
| November | 64% | 1.6 |
| December | 56% | 1.1 |
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 Goldendale need?
A normal year in Goldendale brings 6,483 heating degree days, 21% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 323 cooling degree days, 64% 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 1,953 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,057 | 0 |
| February | 853 | 0 |
| March | 761 | 0 |
| April | 572 | 0 |
| May | 347 | 6 |
| June | 176 | 30 |
| July | 46 | 136 |
| August | 45 | 127 |
| September | 191 | 24 |
| October | 530 | 0 |
| November | 831 | 0 |
| December | 1,074 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 6,483 | 323 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00453222. 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 Goldendale been warmer than normal lately?
Over 64 complete years from 1911 to 2021, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.5°F per century (+0.19°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Goldendale's climate compare?
Goldendale is warmer than 15 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 31. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 48.0°F is warmer than 32%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Goldendale 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 Goldendale share this climate record?
4 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.
- Wasco, OR446 people · 17 mi SE
- Rufus, OR285 people · 9 mi SE
- Centerville, WA107 people · 5 mi SW
- Biggs Junction, OR0 people · 10 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 Goldendale's climate
What is the coldest month in Goldendale?
December, with a normal high of 37°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (86°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow in Goldendale?
Yes: 27 inches in a normal year, falling on 17 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (10.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Goldendale?
December, with 3.18 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.12 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Goldendale in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Goldendale in zone 7a in ZIP code 98620, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Goldendale's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 2°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 7a.
How late can frost come in Goldendale?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 19; in one year in ten it comes after June 9. Waiting until June 9 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Satus Pass (2 mi SSW), WA13 miles from this station, 46.8°F a year
- The Dalles Municipal Airport, WA21 miles from this station, 54.4°F a year
- The Dalles, OR22 miles from this station, 53.5°F a year
- Moro, OR23 miles from this station, 49.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made