Palmer (3 mi ESE), Washington climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Palmer (3 mi ESE)'s normal year runs from 33°F December nights to 76°F August afternoons, with 85.2 inches of precipitation and 18 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 24°C, 2,164 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPalmer (3 mi ESE)
- Station IDUSC00456295
- Location47.31°N 121.85°W
- Elevation920 ft (280 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Palmer (3 mi ESE) is 56°F and the normal low 42°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 60%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Palmer (3 mi ESE).
- Jan 45° 34°
- Feb 48° 34°
- Mar 51° 36°
- Apr 57° 39°
- May 64° 45°
- Jun 68° 49°
- Jul 75° 53°
- Aug 76° 53°
- Sep 70° 50°
- Oct 59° 43°
- Nov 49° 38°
- Dec 43° 33°
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 Palmer (3 mi ESE) each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 76°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 33°F. The most precipitation falls in November (11.48 in), the least in July (2.08 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45°F | 34°F | 39.4°F | 10.97 | 6.1 | 21 | <1 | 12 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 48°F | 34°F | 40.9°F | 7.96 | 4.0 | 18 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 51°F | 36°F | 43.7°F | 9.18 | 2.0 | 22 | <1 | 9 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 39°F | 47.7°F | 7.75 | 0.4 | 20 | <1 | 3 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 64°F | 45°F | 54.1°F | 5.87 | 0.0 | 17 | <1 | <1 | 15 h |
| June | 68°F | 49°F | 58.2°F | 5.32 | 0.0 | 15 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 75°F | 53°F | 63.9°F | 2.08 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 76°F | 53°F | 64.5°F | 2.32 | 0.0 | 8 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 70°F | 50°F | 59.8°F | 3.99 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 59°F | 43°F | 51.1°F | 7.88 | 0.0 | 17 | <1 | 1 | 11 h |
| November | 49°F | 38°F | 43.5°F | 11.48 | 0.9 | 21 | <1 | 6 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 43°F | 33°F | 38.3°F | 10.41 | 4.1 | 21 | <1 | 13 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 42°F | 50.4°F | 85.21 | 17.5 | 200 | 4 | 54 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7°C | 1°C | 4.1°C | 279 mm | 15 cm |
| February | 9°C | 1°C | 4.9°C | 202 mm | 10 cm |
| March | 11°C | 2°C | 6.5°C | 233 mm | 5 cm |
| April | 14°C | 4°C | 8.7°C | 197 mm | 1 cm |
| May | 18°C | 7°C | 12.3°C | 149 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 20°C | 9°C | 14.6°C | 135 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 24°C | 12°C | 17.7°C | 53 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 24°C | 12°C | 18.1°C | 59 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 21°C | 10°C | 15.4°C | 101 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 15°C | 6°C | 10.6°C | 200 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 10°C | 3°C | 6.4°C | 292 mm | 2 cm |
| December | 6°C | 1°C | 3.5°C | 264 mm | 10 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00456295; 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 Palmer (3 mi ESE)?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, August has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00456295.
When is the last frost at Palmer (3 mi ESE)?
In Palmer (3 mi ESE), the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 3 in half of years and after May 2 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 11 in half of years and before October 25 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 31 year in 10 after May 2; 9 in 10 after March 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 111 year in 10 before October 25; 9 in 10 before December 3
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 219 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 276 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 28 in half of springs and before December 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Palmer (3 mi ESE) in zone 8b in ZIP code 98051, 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 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 19°F (22 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 USC00456295; 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 Palmer (3 mi ESE)?
In a normal year in Palmer (3 mi ESE), 4 days a year reach 90°F, 54 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 200 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
- 54a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 3high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 200a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 6a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1924) is 111°F, on June 28, 2021; the lowest is −3°F, on February 4, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1959, with 126.24 in; the snowiest season is 1949–50, with 158.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00456295; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00456295. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Palmer (3 mi ESE)?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Palmer (3 mi ESE), 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (54%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.2 |
| February | 64% | 2.1 |
| March | 63% | 3.1 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.7 |
| June | 74% | 6.3 |
| July | 86% | 7.0 |
| August | 85% | 5.9 |
| September | 79% | 4.3 |
| October | 69% | 2.5 |
| 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Palmer (3 mi ESE) record?
A normal year at Palmer (3 mi ESE) brings 5,452 heating degree days, 1% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 155 cooling degree days, 83% 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 1,737 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 794 | 0 |
| February | 673 | 0 |
| March | 660 | 0 |
| April | 520 | 1 |
| May | 345 | 6 |
| June | 221 | 15 |
| July | 88 | 53 |
| August | 74 | 59 |
| September | 175 | 21 |
| October | 431 | 1 |
| November | 645 | 0 |
| December | 826 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,452 | 155 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00456295. 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.
Have recent years at Palmer (3 mi ESE) been warmer than normal?
2023 averaged 51.4°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 50.4°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 51.4°F | +1.0°F | 69.55 | – |
Over 74 complete years from 1927 to 2023, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.9°F per century (+0.11°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00456295; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Palmer (3 mi ESE)'s climate compare?
Palmer (3 mi ESE) is warmer than 45 of the 96 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 85. 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, Palmer (3 mi ESE) 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.
Questions about Palmer (3 mi ESE)'s climate
What is the coldest month at Palmer (3 mi ESE)?
December, with a normal high of 43°F and a normal low of 33°F. The warmest is August (76°F by day, 53°F at night).
Does it snow at Palmer (3 mi ESE)?
Yes: 18 inches in a normal year, falling on 8 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (6.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Palmer (3 mi ESE)?
November, with 11.48 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 2.08 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Palmer (3 mi ESE) in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Palmer (3 mi ESE) in zone 8b in ZIP code 98051, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 19°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come at Palmer (3 mi ESE)?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 3; in one year in ten it comes after May 2. Waiting until May 2 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Landsburg, WA7 miles from this station, 50.5°F a year
- Cedar Lake, WA9 miles from this station, 46.7°F a year
- Buckley, WA12 miles from this station, 50.9°F a year
- Mud Mountain Dam, WA12 miles from this station, 49.9°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made