Shelton, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Shelton's normal year runs from 33°F December nights to 79°F August afternoons, with 67.9 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 10.8°C, December lows of 1°C, August highs of 26°C, 1,725 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationShelton Sanderson Field
- Station IDUSW00094227
- Location47.24°N 123.14°W
- Elevation271 ft (83 m)
- Population10,737
On October 14, the normal high in Shelton is 62°F and the normal low 41°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 47%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Shelton.
- Jan 47° 34°
- Feb 50° 33°
- Mar 55° 35°
- Apr 60° 38°
- May 67° 44°
- Jun 72° 49°
- Jul 78° 52°
- Aug 79° 52°
- Sep 74° 48°
- Oct 62° 41°
- Nov 52° 36°
- Dec 46° 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 in Shelton each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 79°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 33°F. The most precipitation falls in November (11.60 in), the least in July (0.68 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 | 47°F | 34°F | 40.4°F | 11.08 | 20 | <1 | 13 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 50°F | 33°F | 41.7°F | 6.66 | 17 | <1 | 15 | 10 h 20 min |
| March | 55°F | 35°F | 44.9°F | 7.24 | 20 | <1 | 13 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 60°F | 38°F | 48.9°F | 4.86 | 16 | <1 | 7 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 44°F | 55.3°F | 2.62 | 13 | <1 | 2 | 15 h |
| June | 72°F | 49°F | 60.0°F | 1.54 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| July | 78°F | 52°F | 65.1°F | 0.68 | 4 | 3 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 79°F | 52°F | 65.3°F | 1.22 | 5 | 3 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 74°F | 48°F | 60.5°F | 2.50 | 9 | 1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 62°F | 41°F | 51.3°F | 6.99 | 15 | <1 | 5 | 11 h |
| November | 52°F | 36°F | 44.0°F | 11.60 | 20 | <1 | 11 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 46°F | 33°F | 39.5°F | 10.92 | 20 | <1 | 14 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 62°F | 41°F | 51.4°F | 67.91 | 167 | 8 | 79 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 8°C | 1°C | 4.7°C | 281 mm |
| February | 10°C | 1°C | 5.4°C | 169 mm |
| March | 13°C | 2°C | 7.2°C | 184 mm |
| April | 15°C | 3°C | 9.4°C | 123 mm |
| May | 19°C | 7°C | 12.9°C | 67 mm |
| June | 22°C | 9°C | 15.6°C | 39 mm |
| July | 26°C | 11°C | 18.4°C | 17 mm |
| August | 26°C | 11°C | 18.5°C | 31 mm |
| September | 23°C | 9°C | 15.8°C | 64 mm |
| October | 16°C | 5°C | 10.7°C | 178 mm |
| November | 11°C | 2°C | 6.7°C | 295 mm |
| December | 8°C | 1°C | 4.2°C | 277 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Cushman Powerhouse #2 (9 miles away), gets 4 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094227; 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 Shelton?
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 USW00094227.
When is the last frost in Shelton?
In Shelton, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 27 in half of years and after May 12 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 16 in half of years and before October 1 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 271 year in 10 after May 12; 9 in 10 after April 6
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 161 year in 10 before October 1; 9 in 10 before November 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 175 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 219 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 29 in half of springs and before November 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Shelton in zone 8b in ZIP code 98584, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Shelton's NOAA station is in zone 8a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (21 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 USW00094227; 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 Shelton?
In a normal year in Shelton, 8 days a year reach 90°F, 79 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 167 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 8a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 79a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 167a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1998) is 110°F, on June 28, 2021; the lowest is 6°F, on December 22, 1998.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2006, with 82.41 in; the snowiest season is 2001–02, with 8.2 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00094227; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00094227. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Shelton?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Shelton, 3.4 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (78%) and December the cloudiest (51%).
| 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 Shelton need?
A normal year in Shelton brings 5,082 heating degree days, 5% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 150 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 1,907 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 764 | 0 |
| February | 651 | 0 |
| March | 623 | 0 |
| April | 482 | 0 |
| May | 302 | 3 |
| June | 165 | 16 |
| July | 55 | 58 |
| August | 48 | 59 |
| September | 149 | 14 |
| October | 425 | 0 |
| November | 629 | 0 |
| December | 790 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 5,082 | 150 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00094227. 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 Shelton been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 51.4°F, equal to the 1991-2020 normal of 51.4°F. 0 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51.0°F | −0.4°F | 71.05 |
| 2022 | 50.5°F | −0.9°F | 67.84 |
| 2023 | 51.4°F | at normal | 56.28 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00094227. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Shelton's climate compare?
Shelton is warmer than 67 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 75. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 51.4°F is warmer than 47%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Shelton 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.
Questions about Shelton's climate
What is the coldest month in Shelton?
December, with a normal high of 46°F and a normal low of 33°F. The warmest is August (79°F by day, 52°F at night).
Does it snow in Shelton?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Shelton's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Cushman Powerhouse #2 (9 miles away), records 4 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Shelton?
November, with 11.60 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is July with 0.68 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Shelton in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Shelton in zone 8b in ZIP code 98584, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Shelton's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 14°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 8a.
How late can frost come in Shelton?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 27; in one year in ten it comes after May 12. Waiting until May 12 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Shelton in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Cushman Powerhouse #2, WA9 miles from this station, 51.3°F a year
- Matlock (8 mi S), WA14 miles from this station, 51.1°F a year
- Elma, WA20 miles from this station, 52.3°F a year
- Olympia, WA21 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