Goldendale, WA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Goldendale's primary NOAA station, GOLDENDALE.
The climate verdict for Goldendale
Dryness leads the climate profile for Goldendale, Washington, with 16.5 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 48°F. At 49/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 18% of scores.
- 48°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 49/100
- comfort score, above 18% of station-mapped location scores
- 16.5"
- annual precipitation · 27" snow
- 129 days
- frost-free growing season
Goldendale: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00453222 · Goldendale, WA 48°F mean · 16.5" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 48°F
- RANK-COOL #2,127
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Johnson Rch
- PRCP-DRY 16.5"
- SWING-MID 38°F
- COMF-LOW 49/100
- LOAD-HEAT 6,483 HDD
- STN-1 USC00453222
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Johnson Rch, NM (+ 0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every WA station list.
- Goldendale (this station) 48°F
- Hot Pullman, WA 48°F
- Near Johnson Rch, NM 48°F
- Near Star Lake, NM 48°F
- Near Shoshone, NV 48°F
Climate Living Index · Goldendale
Goldendale: 31/100 · grade F
Goldendale publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Goldendale, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 49/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Snowfall burden | 26.6 inches/year | 42/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 16.5 in · 18.5 from 35 in | 34/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 48.0°F · 19.5° from 67.5°F | 32/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 172 calendar days | 31/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 129 days/year | 11/100 · F |
Goldendale · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Goldendale is a continental Köppen climate: Dsb
Coldest-month mean 30.4°F and warmest-month mean 67.9°F place this station in continental, dry-summer, warm summer climates (Dsb). Class Dsb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-summer, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dsb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 67.9°F
- Coldest month
- 30.4°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Goldendale sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Goldendale's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 31st percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 79%
- Goldendale's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 75%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Goldendale is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Goldendale compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Goldendale's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
49 18th percentile score exceeds 18% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Goldendale's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 64 complete annual observations from 1911 to 2021, GOLDENDALE warmed at a fitted rate of 0.19°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Goldendale primary station fitted change +0.19 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F (3°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 2.8" | 10.2" | 25.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 44°F (7°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 1.8" | 3.5" | 22.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 52°F (11°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 1.6" | 0.6" | 19.7 | 0.0 |
| April | 59°F (15°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 1.1" | 0.0" | 12.8 | 0.0 |
| May | 69°F (20°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 1.0" | 0.0" | 4.1 | 0.6 |
| June | 76°F (24°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 60°F (16°C) | 0.6" | 0.0" | 0.4 | 3.0 |
| July | 86°F (30°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 0.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 13.6 |
| August | 86°F (30°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 0.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 13.5 |
| September | 77°F (25°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 0.4" | 0.0" | 1.3 | 3.8 |
| October | 62°F (17°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 1.4" | 0.0" | 12.2 | 0.0 |
| November | 47°F (8°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 2.4" | 2.7" | 19.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 37°F (3°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 3.2" | 9.6" | 26.5 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 89°F around July 27, short of 90°F on every date, while 172 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 23°F near December 25.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 11, then returns to freezing around October 23, covering 172 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is December 1, when 48% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 25 at 5%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 101 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 23 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 37°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Goldendale.
Where Goldendale Stands Nationally
Day-to-night contrast is extreme by national standards — the widest normal daily swing reaches about 37°F, sharper than nine in ten ranked stations see.
Goldendale earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 10.2"
14.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 3.5"
11.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.6"
11.1 days with precipitation
8.5 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
3.7 days with precipitation
1.3 days with precipitation
1.8 days with precipitation
3.5 days with precipitation
9.7 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.7"
13.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.6"
14.7 days with precipitation
Goldendale's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 47% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 5%. That is the cool-season-dominant pattern of the West Coast and the higher inland West, where storm tracks swing south in winter and summer turns dry; the thermometer meanwhile shows a 37.5°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- December, 3.2"
- Driest month
- July, 0.1"
- Wettest three months
- December, January, November (51% of the year)
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A cool-season label means the December-February share reaches 35%. Where snow falls, the monthly figures above report liquid-equivalent precipitation, so a wet winter month is not necessarily a rainy one.
Goldendale is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 101 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 28% of the calendar, and they carry 16.5" between them. At roughly 0.16 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is December at about 15 wet days; the driest is July at about 1.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Winter brings real snow to Goldendale
Goldendale averages 26.6 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 17 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 26.6 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 17 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 16% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 25
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 19
50% probability date
Growing Season
129 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
6,483
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
323
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WA closest to Goldendale on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (48°F here).
- Ames, IA 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Barrington, IL 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Big Bear Lake, CA 48°F · 0.0°F off
- Billings, MT 48°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (16.5" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Beach, ND 16.5" · 0.0" off
- Flagler, CO 16.5" · 0.0" off
- Harrisburg, NE 16.5" · 0.0" off
- Wyola, MT 16.5" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Goldendale
heating led · dry · mid swing
Goldendale's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 6,483 annual heating degree days against 323 for cooling. Its 37.5°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 129 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Goldendale coldest normal
December
The monthly mean of 30°F (-1°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Goldendale typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Goldendale snow peak
January
Goldendale averages 26.6 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Goldendale's climate
How much snow does Goldendale get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Goldendale get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Goldendale? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Goldendale's primary station: GOLDENDALE (USC00453222). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 5327435). Match rule for Goldendale: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Goldendale comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.