Tacoma, 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 Tacoma's primary NOAA station, TACOMA #1.
The climate verdict for Tacoma
A compact 24.9°F seasonal swing gives Tacoma, Washington a steadier-than-extreme annual shape. NOAA reports an annual average of 54°F. Its climate comfort score of 73/100 (good) lands mid-pack nationally, exceeding 66% of station-mapped location scores.
- 54°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 73/100
- comfort score, above 66% of station-mapped location scores
- 40.8"
- annual precipitation
- 251 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Tacoma: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00458278 · Tacoma, WA 54°F mean · 40.8" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-NARROW · COMF-MID · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 54°F
- RANK-MID #3,842
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Seattle
- PRCP-MID 40.8"
- SWING-NARROW 25°F
- COMF-MID 73/100
- LOAD-HEAT 4,332 HDD
- STN-1 USC00458278
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Seattle, WA (+ 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.
- Tacoma (this station) 54°F
- Cold Renton, WA 54°F
- Hot Kent, WA 54°F
- Near Seattle, WA 54°F
- Near Seattle Boeing…, WA 54°F
Climate Living Index · Tacoma
Tacoma: 79/100 · grade B
Tacoma publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Tacoma, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 73/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 0 calendar days | 100/100 · A |
| Frost-free season | 251 days/year | 89/100 · A |
| Precipitation balance | 40.8 in · 5.8 from 35 in | 79/100 · B |
| Annual temperature balance | 53.7°F · 13.8° from 67.5°F | 55/100 · C |
Tacoma · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Tacoma is a temperate Köppen climate: Csb
Coldest-month mean 42.1°F and warmest-month mean 67.0°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
- 67.0°F
- Coldest month
- 42.1°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 Tacoma sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Tacoma's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- 56th percentile warmth
- Mid-pack annual mean versus 6,861 station normals.
- Annual precipitation
- 60th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 95%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Tacoma is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Tacoma compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Tacoma's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
73 Top 34% score exceeds 66% 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%). Below this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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
Tacoma's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 30 complete annual observations from 1983 to 2025, TACOMA #1 warmed at a fitted rate of 0.13°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Tacoma primary station fitted change +0.13 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48°F (9°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 6.0" | 7.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 50°F (10°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 4.0" | 6.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 55°F (13°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 47°F (9°C) | 4.4" | 2.3 | 0.0 |
| April | 60°F (15°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 3.4" | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| May | 67°F (19°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 2.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| June | 71°F (22°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 1.4" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| July | 77°F (25°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 0.6" | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| August | 77°F (25°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 0.8" | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| September | 71°F (22°C) | 53°F (12°C) | 62°F (17°C) | 1.6" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| October | 61°F (16°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 4.1" | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 52°F (11°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 6.5" | 3.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 47°F (8°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 6.0" | 7.3 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
The calendar barely moves in Tacoma: no date carries a normal high of 90°F or a normal low at freezing. The year runs between 37°F near December 20 and 78°F near July 27.
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 37°F around December 20.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is December 8, when 66% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is July 28 at 11%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 156 wet dates a year.
The widest day
August 4 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 Tacoma.
Where Tacoma Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 20°F.
Tacoma 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
19.6 days with precipitation
15.7 days with precipitation
17.7 days with precipitation
14.8 days with precipitation
10.4 days with precipitation
8.4 days with precipitation
3.5 days with precipitation
4.0 days with precipitation
7.3 days with precipitation
14.5 days with precipitation
19.4 days with precipitation
20.2 days with precipitation
Tacoma's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 39% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 7%. 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 an unusually narrow 24.9°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- November, 6.5"
- Driest month
- July, 0.6"
- Wettest three months
- November, January, December (45% 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.
How Tacoma's precipitation splits across the calendar
About 156 days a year record measurable precipitation here, carrying 40.8" between them, or roughly 0.26 inches on a typical wet day. That sits in the middle band: neither the many-light-days pattern of the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes, nor the few-heavy-events pattern of the Gulf and the desert Southwest.
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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
November 14
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
March 8
50% probability date
Growing Season
251 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
4,332
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
211
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside WA closest to Tacoma 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 (54°F here).
- Beaverton, OR 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Caliente, NV 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Carrollton, MO 54°F · 0.0°F off
- Centralia, KS 54°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (40.8" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Enosburg Falls, VT 40.8" · 0.0" off
- Warren, OH 40.8" · 0.0" off
- Waxahachie, TX 40.8" · 0.0" off
- Gallatin, MO 40.8" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Tacoma's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · low swing
Heating is the larger measured load in Tacoma, at 4,332 degree days versus 211 for cooling. Unlike a strongly continental record, however, its 24.9°F month-to-month range is compact; persistent cool-season demand matters more than a dramatic summer-to-winter reversal.
The frost-free window extends for about 251 days. That is a long calendar measure, but it is not a forecast and does not combine heat, rainfall, soil, or local elevation into a planting recommendation.
Temperature varies within a narrow 24.9°F band across the normal year. July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar. The annual average is 54°F. Monthly rows still matter, but they refine a steady profile rather than reveal two climatic extremes.
Tacoma's 40.8 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Tacoma'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 Tacoma, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Tacoma's climate
How much rain does Tacoma get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Tacoma? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Tacoma's primary station: TACOMA #1 (USC00458278). 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 5370000). Match rule for Tacoma: 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 Tacoma 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.