Port Townsend, WA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Port Townsend's primary NOAA station, PORT TOWNSEND.
The climate verdict for Port Townsend
Dryness leads the climate profile for Port Townsend, Washington, with 19.1 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 52°F. Its climate comfort score of 67/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 56% of station-mapped location scores.
- 52°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 67/100
- comfort score, above 56% of station-mapped location scores
- 19.1"
- annual precipitation · 1" snow
- 272 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Port Townsend: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00456678 · Port Townsend, WA 52°F mean · 19.1" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-NARROW · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 52°F
- RANK-MID #3,362
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Fort Clatsop Na…
- PRCP-DRY 19.1"
- SWING-NARROW 22°F
- COMF-MID 67/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,837 HDD
- STN-1 USC00456678
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Fort Clatsop Natl Mem, OR ( -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.
- Port Townsend (this station) 52°F
- Cold Otis, OR 52°F
- Hot Everett, WA 52°F
- Near Fort Clatsop Na…, OR 52°F
- Near Seaside, OR 52°F
Climate Living Index · Port Townsend
Port Townsend: 73/100 · grade B
Port Townsend publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Port Townsend, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 67/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 0 calendar days | 100/100 · A |
| Frost-free season | 272 days/year | 95/100 · A |
| Snowfall burden | 0.6 inches/year | 86/100 · A |
| Annual temperature balance | 51.9°F · 15.6° from 67.5°F | 49/100 · D |
| Precipitation balance | 19.1 in · 15.9 from 35 in | 44/100 · D |
Port Townsend · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Port Townsend is a temperate Köppen climate: Csb
Coldest-month mean 41.8°F and warmest-month mean 63.3°F place this station in temperate, dry-summer, warm summer climates (Csb). Class Csb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, dry-summer, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Csb
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 63.3°F
- Coldest month
- 41.8°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 Port Townsend sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Port Townsend's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 49th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 74%
- Port Townsend's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 96%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Port Townsend is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Port Townsend compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Port Townsend's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
67 Top 44% score exceeds 56% 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%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Below this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46°F (8°C) | 38°F (4°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 2.2" | 0.0" | 4.6 | 0.0 |
| February | 49°F (9°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 1.6" | 0.2" | 2.9 | 0.0 |
| March | 52°F (11°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 1.9" | 0.0" | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| April | 58°F (14°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 1.5" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| May | 63°F (17°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 1.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| June | 68°F (20°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 1.4" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| July | 73°F (23°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 0.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| August | 73°F (23°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 63°F (17°C) | 0.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| September | 68°F (20°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 60°F (15°C) | 1.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| October | 58°F (15°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 1.6" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| November | 50°F (10°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 2.4" | 0.0" | 1.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 45°F (7°C) | 38°F (4°C) | 42°F (5°C) | 2.6" | 0.4" | 3.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
The calendar barely moves in Port Townsend: no date carries a normal high of 90°F or a normal low at freezing. The year runs between 38°F near December 20 and 74°F near July 29.
No freezing date
Not one calendar date in the 1991–2020 record carries a normal low at or below 32°F. The coldest normal low of the year is 38°F around December 20.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is November 25, when 58% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 30 at 16%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 141 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 29 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 20°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Port Townsend.
Where Port Townsend Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 20°F.
Port Townsend 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
16.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.2"
12.1 days with precipitation
14.6 days with precipitation
12.7 days with precipitation
11.3 days with precipitation
9.4 days with precipitation
5.7 days with precipitation
6.1 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
12.7 days with precipitation
16.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.4"
16.2 days with precipitation
Port Townsend spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 14% of the annual total and December through February 34%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Port Townsend has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry an unusually narrow 21.5°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: December averages 2.6" and August 0.5". The three wettest months together take 38% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
Rain reaches Port Townsend in small, frequent amounts
Port Townsend records about 141 days with measurable precipitation a year and 19.1" in total, which works out to roughly 0.14 inches on an average wet day. Precipitation on 39% of all days, arriving that lightly, is the damp many-grey-days pattern rather than the storm-driven one.
Places in this band read as wetter than their annual totals suggest, because what people notice is the number of overcast days, not the depth in the gauge.
- Most wet days: November, about 17 of them.
- Fewest: July, about 6.
- Average depth per wet day: 0.14 inches.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Snow reaches Port Townsend, but rarely amounts to much
The normals record 0.6 inches of snow a year here, most likely in December. That is a real but marginal amount: enough that snow is part of the local record, not enough to define the winter.
A figure in this range usually reflects a handful of events that melt quickly rather than a season of accumulation; about 0 days a year record any measurable snow at all.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. An average across thirty years can smooth away a single heavy winter, so a small annual figure does not mean a significant snowfall is impossible.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
November 28
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
March 1
50% probability date
Growing Season
272 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,837
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
61
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
August
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WA closest to Port Townsend 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 (52°F here).
- Atwood, KS 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Boston, MA 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Connellsville, PA 52°F · 0.0°F off
- Curtis, NE 52°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (19.1" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Idalia, CO 19.1" · 0.0" off
- Sunriver, OR 19.1" · 0.0" off
- Elliston, MT 19.1" · 0.0" off
- Hooker, OK 19.1" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Port Townsend's climate pattern fits together
heating led · dry · low swing
Heating is the larger measured load in Port Townsend, at 4,837 degree days versus 61 for cooling. Unlike a strongly continental record, however, its 21.5°F month-to-month range is compact; persistent cool-season demand matters more than a dramatic summer-to-winter reversal.
Port Townsend has a long frost-free window of roughly 272 days, but the dry annual profile is a separate constraint. Growing-season length says when freezes are unlikely, not whether rainfall is sufficient.
The calendar stays thermally compact and dry. August and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar, only 21.5°F apart, while the annual precipitation total remains below PlainClimate's dry threshold. The annual average is 52°F. The monthly rows show whether that limited precipitation is spread through the year or concentrated in a shorter interval.
Port Townsend's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 19.1 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Annual snowfall totals 0.6 inches. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Port Townsend's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Port Townsend, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Port Townsend's climate
How much rain does Port Townsend get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Port Townsend? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Port Townsend's primary station: PORT TOWNSEND (USC00456678). 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 5355855). Match rule for Port Townsend: 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 Port Townsend 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.