Sunnyside, WA Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Sunnyside's primary NOAA station, SUNNYSIDE - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Sunnyside
Dryness leads the climate profile for Sunnyside, Washington, with 7.7 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 50°F. At 40/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 6% of scores.
- 50°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 40/100
- comfort score, above 6% of station-mapped location scores
- 7.7"
- annual precipitation
- 158 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Sunnyside: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00458207 · Sunnyside, WA 50°F mean · 7.7" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 50°F
- RANK-COOL #2,676
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Fenn Ranger Sta…
- PRCP-ARID 7.7"
- SWING-MID 42°F
- COMF-LOW 40/100
- LOAD-HEAT 5,994 HDD
- STN-MULTI USC00458207
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Fenn Ranger Station, ID (+ 0 °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.
- Sunnyside (this station) 50°F
- Cold Spokane Felts F…, WA 50°F
- Hot Buckeye, WV 50°F
- Near Fenn Ranger Sta…, ID 50°F
- Near Savage Rvr Dam, MD 50°F
Climate Living Index · Sunnyside
Sunnyside: 31/100 · grade F
Sunnyside publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Sunnyside, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 40/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Annual temperature balance | 49.9°F · 17.6° from 67.5°F | 40/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 163 calendar days | 37/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 158 days/year | 32/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 7.7 in · 27.4 from 35 in | 7/100 · F |
Sunnyside · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Sunnyside's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSk
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: cold semi-arid steppe (BSk). Class BSk is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically cold semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSk
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 71.3°F
- Coldest month
- 29.7°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 Sunnyside sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Sunnyside's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 39th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 97%
- Sunnyside's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 42nd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Sunnyside compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Sunnyside's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
40 6th percentile score exceeds 6% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38°F (3°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 1.0" | 26.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 45°F (7°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 0.7" | 21.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 55°F (13°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 0.5" | 14.7 | 0.0 |
| April | 63°F (17°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 0.6" | 6.3 | 0.0 |
| May | 73°F (23°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 0.8" | 0.9 | 2.5 |
| June | 79°F (26°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 0.6" | 0.0 | 5.0 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 0.1" | 0.0 | 17.8 |
| August | 87°F (30°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 0.3" | 0.0 | 15.1 |
| September | 78°F (25°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 0.4" | 0.1 | 4.6 |
| October | 64°F (18°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 0.7" | 7.2 | 0.0 |
| November | 48°F (9°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 0.8" | 20.1 | 0.0 |
| December | 37°F (3°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 1.2" | 26.4 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Sunnyside works both ends of the calendar. Normal highs climb to 90°F by July 26 and hold at or above 90°F on 10 dates, then normal lows drop to freezing or below on 153 dates, bottoming at 22°F around December 21.
When the heat sits
Normal highs reach 90°F from July 22 through July 31, covering 10 dates. The broader mild season, normal highs of 70°F or more, runs May 6 to October 4.
This counts calendar dates whose 1991–2020 normal high reaches 90°F. It is a smaller number than the 90°F+ day counts in the monthly table above, which measure how often the threshold was actually crossed in a typical year. A date can average 88°F and still exceed 90°F in half of all years.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 26, then returns to freezing around October 26, covering 153 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is January 1, when 31% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 24 at 7%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 67 wet dates a year.
The widest day
July 28 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 35°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Sunnyside.
Where Sunnyside Stands Nationally
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 8 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Daily temperature swings run wider than most of the country, peaking near 35°F between the normal high and low.
Sunnyside earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
8.6 days with precipitation
6.2 days with precipitation
5.6 days with precipitation
5.9 days with precipitation
6.1 days with precipitation
4.3 days with precipitation
2.0 days with precipitation
2.3 days with precipitation
2.8 days with precipitation
5.8 days with precipitation
7.8 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
Sunnyside's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 37% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 13%. That is the cool-season-dominant pattern of the West Coast and the higher inland West, where storm tracks swing south in winter and summer turns dry; the thermometer meanwhile shows a 41.6°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- December, 1.2"
- Driest month
- July, 0.1"
- Wettest three months
- December, January, November (39% of the year)
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A cool-season label means the December-February share reaches 35%. Where snow falls, the monthly figures above report liquid-equivalent precipitation, so a wet winter month is not necessarily a rainy one.
Sunnyside is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 66 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 18% of the calendar, and they carry 7.6" between them. At roughly 0.12 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is January at about 9 wet days; the driest is July at about 2.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 6
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 1
50% probability date
Growing Season
158 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
5,994
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
499
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WA closest to Sunnyside 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 (50°F here).
- Cedar Rapids, IA 50°F · 0.0°F off
- Centerville, IA 50°F · 0.0°F off
- Chalmers, IN 50°F · 0.0°F off
- Davenport, IA 50°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (7.7" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Big Water, UT 7.7" · 0.0" off
- Shafter, CA 7.7" · 0.0" off
- Worland, WY 7.7" · 0.1" off
- Manassa, CO 7.8" · 0.1" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Sunnyside's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Sunnyside's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 5,994 annual heating degree days against 499 for cooling. Its 41.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Sunnyside's frost-free season lasts about 158 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Sunnyside's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 41.6°F. The annual average is 50°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Sunnyside's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 7.7 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Sunnyside wettest normal
December
December concentrates the scarce annual total (7.7 inches).
Sunnyside driest normal
July
July is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Sunnyside's climate
How dry is Sunnyside? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Sunnyside get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Sunnyside? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Sunnyside's primary station: SUNNYSIDE (USC00458207). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Sunnyside area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. 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 5368750). Match rule for Sunnyside: 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 Sunnyside 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.