Kent, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Kent's normal year runs from 35°F December nights to 78°F July afternoons, with 40.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.1°C, December lows of 2°C, July highs of 26°C, 1,018 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationKent
- Station IDUSC00454169
- Location47.42°N 122.24°W
- Elevation30 ft (9 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population136,588
On October 23, the normal high in Kent is 59°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 50%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Kent.
- Jan 48° 36°
- Feb 51° 36°
- Mar 56° 39°
- Apr 61° 43°
- May 68° 49°
- Jun 72° 53°
- Jul 78° 57°
- Aug 78° 57°
- Sep 73° 52°
- Oct 61° 46°
- Nov 53° 39°
- Dec 47° 35°
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 Kent each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 78°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 35°F. The most precipitation falls in November (6.23 in), the least in July (0.67 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48°F | 36°F | 42.2°F | 5.77 | 18 | <1 | 9 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 51°F | 36°F | 43.7°F | 3.99 | 16 | <1 | 8 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 56°F | 39°F | 47.4°F | 4.36 | 17 | <1 | 4 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 61°F | 43°F | 52.1°F | 3.06 | 15 | <1 | 1 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 68°F | 49°F | 58.4°F | 2.10 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 15 h |
| June | 72°F | 53°F | 62.6°F | 1.68 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 78°F | 57°F | 67.8°F | 0.67 | 4 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 78°F | 57°F | 67.8°F | 0.92 | 5 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 73°F | 52°F | 62.5°F | 1.49 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 61°F | 46°F | 53.4°F | 4.07 | 14 | <1 | 1 | 11 h |
| November | 53°F | 39°F | 45.9°F | 6.23 | 19 | <1 | 6 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 47°F | 35°F | 41.2°F | 5.75 | 19 | <1 | 11 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 45°F | 53.8°F | 40.09 | 153 | 4 | 39 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | 2°C | 5.7°C | 147 mm |
| February | 11°C | 2°C | 6.5°C | 101 mm |
| March | 13°C | 4°C | 8.6°C | 111 mm |
| April | 16°C | 6°C | 11.2°C | 78 mm |
| May | 20°C | 9°C | 14.7°C | 53 mm |
| June | 22°C | 12°C | 17.0°C | 43 mm |
| July | 26°C | 14°C | 19.9°C | 17 mm |
| August | 26°C | 14°C | 19.9°C | 23 mm |
| September | 23°C | 11°C | 16.9°C | 38 mm |
| October | 16°C | 8°C | 11.9°C | 103 mm |
| November | 12°C | 4°C | 7.7°C | 158 mm |
| December | 8°C | 2°C | 5.1°C | 146 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Seattle (4 miles away), gets 6 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00454169; 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 Kent?
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 (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 USC00454169.
When is the last frost in Kent?
In Kent, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 20 in half of years and after April 8 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 10 in half of years and before October 26 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
- March 201 year in 10 after April 8; 9 in 10 after February 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 101 year in 10 before October 26; 9 in 10 before November 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 233 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 275 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 25 in half of springs and before November 24 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Kent in zones 8b to 9a across its 4 ZIP code areas (9a in 98032, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Kent's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 19°F (20 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 USC00454169; 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.
What hardiness zone is each Kent ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Kent's 4 ZIP code areas run from zone 8b to 9a: 3 in 8b and 1 in 9a. Each ZIP's frost dates are in the frost tool.
Source: USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; ZIP areas in the place: Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-place relationship file. A ZIP area counts when at least a tenth of its land (and 0.5 km²) lies in the place.
How hot and how cold does it get in Kent?
In a normal year in Kent, 4 days a year reach 90°F, 39 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 153 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
- 39a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 153a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1912) is 104°F, on July 30, 2009; the lowest is −5°F, on February 2, 1950.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1933, with 52.55 in; the snowiest season is 1968–69, with 31.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00454169; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00454169. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Kent?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Kent, 3.4 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (51%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 452nd (with 6 others) in sunshine.
| 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 Kent need?
A normal year in Kent brings 4,369 heating degree days, 19% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 285 cooling degree days, 69% 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 2,408 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 705 | 0 |
| February | 596 | 0 |
| March | 546 | 0 |
| April | 388 | 1 |
| May | 216 | 10 |
| June | 103 | 31 |
| July | 21 | 108 |
| August | 18 | 105 |
| September | 105 | 29 |
| October | 359 | 1 |
| November | 573 | 0 |
| December | 738 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,369 | 285 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00454169. 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 Kent's climate compare?
Kent is warmer than 92 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 58. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 53.8°F is warmer than 56%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Kent 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 Kent 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.
- Auburn, WAalso near: Tacoma #1 (10 mi, 53.7°F a year); Seattle (11 mi, 53.7°F a year)85,513 people · 8 mi S
- Lakeland North, WA14,664 people · 6 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 Kent's climate
What is the coldest month in Kent?
December, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 35°F. The warmest is July (78°F by day, 57°F at night).
Does it snow in Kent?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Kent's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Seattle (4 miles away), records 6 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Kent?
November, with 6.23 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.67 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Kent in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Kent in zones 8b to 9a across its 4 ZIP code areas (9a in 98032, the largest). By the same method at Kent's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 19°F (20 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Kent?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 20; in one year in ten it comes after April 8. Waiting until April 8 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kent in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Seattle, WA4 miles from this station, 53.7°F a year
- Renton, WA6 miles from this station, 53.6°F a year
- Seattle Boeing Field, WA8 miles from this station, 53.8°F a year
- Landsburg, WA14 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