Port Townsend, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Port Townsend's normal year runs from 38°F December nights to 73°F August afternoons, with 19.1 inches of precipitation and less than an inch of snow (0.6 in) a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 11.1°C, December lows of 4°C, August highs of 23°C, 486 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPort Townsend
- Station IDUSC00456678
- Location48.12°N 122.76°W
- Elevation100 ft (31 m)
- Population10,649
On October 23, the normal high in Port Townsend is 56°F and the normal low 45°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 45%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Port Townsend.
- Jan 46° 38°
- Feb 49° 38°
- Mar 52° 40°
- Apr 58° 43°
- May 63° 47°
- Jun 68° 51°
- Jul 73° 53°
- Aug 73° 54°
- Sep 68° 51°
- Oct 58° 46°
- Nov 50° 41°
- Dec 45° 38°
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 Port Townsend each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 73°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 38°F. The most precipitation falls in December (2.58 in), the least in August (0.54 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 | 46°F | 38°F | 42.4°F | 2.24 | 16 | <1 | 5 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 49°F | 38°F | 43.4°F | 1.61 | 12 | <1 | 3 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 52°F | 40°F | 46.2°F | 1.85 | 15 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 58°F | 43°F | 50.4°F | 1.53 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| May | 63°F | 47°F | 55.2°F | 1.52 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 68°F | 51°F | 59.4°F | 1.37 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 73°F | 53°F | 62.8°F | 0.73 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 73°F | 54°F | 63.3°F | 0.54 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 68°F | 51°F | 59.5°F | 1.10 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 46°F | 52.2°F | 1.64 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 11 h |
| November | 50°F | 41°F | 45.7°F | 2.43 | 17 | <1 | 1 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 45°F | 38°F | 41.8°F | 2.58 | 16 | <1 | 4 | 8 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 59°F | 45°F | 51.9°F | 19.14 | 141 | <1 | 14 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | 4°C | 5.8°C | 57 mm |
| February | 9°C | 3°C | 6.3°C | 41 mm |
| March | 11°C | 5°C | 7.9°C | 47 mm |
| April | 14°C | 6°C | 10.2°C | 39 mm |
| May | 17°C | 8°C | 12.9°C | 39 mm |
| June | 20°C | 11°C | 15.2°C | 35 mm |
| July | 23°C | 12°C | 17.1°C | 19 mm |
| August | 23°C | 12°C | 17.4°C | 14 mm |
| September | 20°C | 11°C | 15.3°C | 28 mm |
| October | 15°C | 8°C | 11.2°C | 42 mm |
| November | 10°C | 5°C | 7.6°C | 62 mm |
| December | 7°C | 4°C | 5.4°C | 66 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00456678; 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 Port Townsend?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July, August and September. Of those, July has the fewest days with rain (6).
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 USC00456678.
When is the last frost in Port Townsend?
In Port Townsend, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after March 1 in half of years and after March 23 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 28 in half of years and before November 9 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 11 year in 10 after March 23; 9 in 10 after February 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 281 year in 10 before November 9; 9 in 10 before December 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 274 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 324 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after February 1 in half of springs and before December 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Port Townsend in zone 8b in ZIP code 98368. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Port Townsend's NOAA station is in zone 9b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 25°F (15 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 USC00456678; 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 Port Townsend?
In a normal year in Port Townsend, a 90°F day is rare, 14 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 141 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 14a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 141a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1891) is 96°F, on August 9, 1960; the lowest is 5°F, on January 25, 1950.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1995, with 23.70 in; the snowiest season is 1949–50, with 31.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00456678; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00456678. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Port Townsend?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Port Townsend, 3.5 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (51%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 52% | 1.0 |
| February | 61% | 1.9 |
| March | 61% | 2.9 |
| April | 67% | 4.3 |
| May | 71% | 5.5 |
| June | 72% | 6.0 |
| July | 82% | 6.5 |
| August | 81% | 5.5 |
| September | 76% | 3.9 |
| October | 64% | 2.2 |
| November | 55% | 1.1 |
| 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 Port Townsend need?
A normal year in Port Townsend brings 4,837 heating degree days, 10% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 61 cooling degree days, 93% 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 1,712 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 701 | 0 |
| February | 603 | 0 |
| March | 583 | 0 |
| April | 440 | 0 |
| May | 306 | 1 |
| June | 175 | 8 |
| July | 92 | 24 |
| August | 76 | 23 |
| September | 170 | 5 |
| October | 395 | 0 |
| November | 579 | 0 |
| December | 718 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,837 | 61 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00456678. 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 Port Townsend's climate compare?
Port Townsend is warmer than 78 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 41. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.9°F is warmer than 49%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Port Townsend 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 Port Townsend share this climate record?
3 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.
- Port Hadlock-Irondale, WA3,695 people · 6 mi S
- Freeland, WA1,966 people · 11 mi SE
- Marrowstone, WA982 people · 7 mi SE
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 Port Townsend's climate
What is the coldest month in Port Townsend?
December, with a normal high of 45°F and a normal low of 38°F. The warmest is August (73°F by day, 54°F at night).
Does it snow in Port Townsend?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is 0.6 inch a year.
What is the rainiest month in Port Townsend?
December, with 2.58 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is August with 0.54 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Port Townsend in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Port Townsend in zone 8b in ZIP code 98368. By the same method at Port Townsend's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 25°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 9b.
How late can frost come in Port Townsend?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after March 1; in one year in ten it comes after March 23. Waiting until March 23 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Port Townsend in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Coupeville, WA7 miles from this station, 50.2°F a year
- Sequim, WA14 miles from this station, 48.9°F a year
- Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, WA17 miles from this station, 52.1°F a year
- Quilcene, WA22 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