Salem, Oregon climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Salem's normal year runs from 35°F December nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 40.1 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 12.3°C, December lows of 2°C, July highs of 29°C, 1,018 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSalem Airport (McNary Field)
- Station IDUSW00024232
- Location44.91°N 123.00°W
- Elevation205 ft (63 m)
- Population180,406
On October 14, the normal high in Salem is 66°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 39%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Salem.
- Jan 48° 36°
- Feb 52° 36°
- Mar 57° 38°
- Apr 62° 41°
- May 69° 46°
- Jun 75° 51°
- Jul 84° 55°
- Aug 84° 55°
- Sep 78° 51°
- Oct 65° 44°
- Nov 54° 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 Salem each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 35°F. The most precipitation falls in December (6.97 in), the least in July (0.25 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 | 42.1°F | 6.08 | 18 | <1 | 11 | 9 h 10 min |
| February | 52°F | 36°F | 44.0°F | 4.54 | 16 | <1 | 10 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 57°F | 38°F | 47.5°F | 4.35 | 18 | <1 | 6 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 62°F | 41°F | 51.3°F | 3.12 | 16 | <1 | 2 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 69°F | 46°F | 57.7°F | 2.25 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| June | 75°F | 51°F | 62.7°F | 1.25 | 8 | 2 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| July | 84°F | 55°F | 69.3°F | 0.25 | 2 | 7 | <1 | 15 h 20 min |
| August | 84°F | 55°F | 69.2°F | 0.39 | 3 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| September | 78°F | 51°F | 64.0°F | 1.46 | 6 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 65°F | 44°F | 54.3°F | 3.47 | 13 | <1 | 1 | 11 h |
| November | 54°F | 39°F | 46.3°F | 5.95 | 18 | <1 | 7 | 9 h 40 min |
| December | 47°F | 35°F | 41.3°F | 6.97 | 19 | <1 | 12 | 8 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 64°F | 44°F | 54.1°F | 40.08 | 148 | 18 | 49 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 9°C | 2°C | 5.6°C | 154 mm |
| February | 11°C | 2°C | 6.7°C | 115 mm |
| March | 14°C | 3°C | 8.6°C | 110 mm |
| April | 16°C | 5°C | 10.7°C | 79 mm |
| May | 21°C | 8°C | 14.3°C | 57 mm |
| June | 24°C | 10°C | 17.1°C | 32 mm |
| July | 29°C | 13°C | 20.7°C | 6 mm |
| August | 29°C | 13°C | 20.7°C | 10 mm |
| September | 25°C | 10°C | 17.8°C | 37 mm |
| October | 18°C | 7°C | 12.4°C | 88 mm |
| November | 12°C | 4°C | 7.9°C | 151 mm |
| December | 9°C | 2°C | 5.2°C | 177 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Silverton (13 miles away), gets 1 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024232; 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 Salem?
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 (2).
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 USW00024232.
When is the last frost in Salem?
In Salem, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 3 in half of years and after April 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before November 1 in half of years and before October 16 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 April 27; 9 in 10 after March 10
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- November 11 year in 10 before October 16; 9 in 10 before November 23
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 212 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 264 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 2 in half of springs and before November 22 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Salem in zone 8b across its 5 ZIP code areas (8b in 97302, the largest). By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Salem's NOAA station is in zone 8b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (30 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Oregon · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USW00024232; 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 Salem ZIP code in?
The USDA's 2023 map gives each ZIP code area one zone. Salem's 5 ZIP code areas are all in zone 8b. 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 Salem?
In a normal year in Salem, 18 days a year reach 90°F (2 of them 100°F or more), 49 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 148 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 18a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 2a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 49a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 148a normal year
The highest temperature in Salem's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1893) is 117°F, on June 28, 2021; the lowest is −12°F, on December 8, 1972.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1996, with 66.96 in; the snowiest season is 1968–69, with 34.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00024232; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record SLEthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Salem, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 52°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 53°F; the driest air comes in December (36°F). February is the windiest month (7.1 mph on average), and July has the most clear or nearly clear hours (81%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F | 82% | 68% | 6.4 mph | 35% | 46% |
| February | 37°F | 77% | 60% | 7.1 mph | 38% | 43% |
| March | 40°F | 74% | 55% | 6.9 mph | 37% | 40% |
| April | 43°F | 69% | 49% | 6.5 mph | 47% | 32% |
| May | 48°F | 67% | 48% | 6.2 mph | 48% | 33% |
| June | 51°F | 61% | 40% | 6.2 mph | 63% | 22% |
| July | 53°F | 58% | 34% | 6.1 mph | 81% | 11% |
| August | 51°F | 61% | 36% | 5.5 mph | 73% | 13% |
| September | 48°F | 70% | 45% | 5.2 mph | 64% | 22% |
| October | 43°F | 80% | 63% | 5.9 mph | 44% | 40% |
| November | 37°F | 83% | 72% | 7.0 mph | 34% | 50% |
| December | 36°F | 84% | 75% | 7.0 mph | 29% | 55% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00024232. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Salem?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Salem, 3.9 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (87%) and December the cloudiest (54%). Among the 459 U.S. places of 50,000 or more, that ranks tied 352nd (with 32 others) in sunshine.
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 57% | 1.3 |
| February | 61% | 2.2 |
| March | 61% | 3.2 |
| April | 66% | 4.5 |
| May | 71% | 5.7 |
| June | 74% | 6.3 |
| July | 87% | 7.1 |
| August | 86% | 6.1 |
| September | 81% | 4.5 |
| October | 70% | 2.8 |
| November | 59% | 1.5 |
| December | 54% | 1.1 |
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 Salem need?
A normal year in Salem brings 4,340 heating degree days, 19% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 401 cooling degree days, 56% 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 2,568 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 710 | 0 |
| February | 588 | 0 |
| March | 541 | 0 |
| April | 412 | 1 |
| May | 239 | 11 |
| June | 108 | 39 |
| July | 15 | 149 |
| August | 16 | 146 |
| September | 82 | 54 |
| October | 332 | 2 |
| November | 561 | 0 |
| December | 736 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,340 | 401 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00024232. 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.
Has Salem been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 55.9°F, 1.8°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 54.1°F. 5 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55.8°F | +1.7°F | 40.82 |
| 2022 | 54.7°F | +0.6°F | 39.00 |
| 2023 | 54.6°F | +0.5°F | 36.66 |
| 2024 | 55.8°F | +1.7°F | 44.60 |
| 2025 | 55.9°F | +1.8°F | 35.79 |
Over 117 complete years from 1893 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 2.5°F per century (+0.14°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00024232; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Salem's climate compare?
Salem is warmer than 88 of the other 104 places with their own NOAA record in Oregon, and wetter than 54. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 54.1°F is warmer than 57%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Salem 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 Salem share this climate record?
6 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.
- Keizer, OR39,152 people · 7 mi N
- Hayesville, OR22,309 people · 5 mi N
- Four Corners, OR16,168 people · 2 mi NE
- Turner, OR2,414 people · 5 mi SE
- Labish Village, OR238 people · 8 mi N
- Eola, OR0 people · 6 mi W
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 Salem's climate
What is the coldest month in Salem?
December, with a normal high of 47°F and a normal low of 35°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 55°F at night).
Does it snow in Salem?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Salem's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Silverton (13 miles away), records 1 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Salem?
December, with 6.97 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.25 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Salem in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Salem in zone 8b across its 5 ZIP code areas (8b in 97302, the largest). By the same method at Salem's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 18°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 8b.
How late can frost come in Salem?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 3; in one year in ten it comes after April 27. Waiting until April 27 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Salem in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Oregon climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Stayton, OR12 miles from this station, 52.8°F a year
- Silverton, OR13 miles from this station, 53.0°F a year
- Dallas, OR14 miles from this station, 53.1°F a year
- Silver Creek Falls, OR17 miles from this station, 48.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made