Washington, Indiana climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Washington's normal year runs from 24°F January nights to 87°F July afternoons, with 48.0 inches of precipitation and 9 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 13.5°C, January lows of −5°C, July highs of 31°C, 1,219 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWashington (1 mi W)
- Station IDUSC00129253
- Location38.65°N 87.20°W
- Elevation482 ft (147 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population12,881
On October 23, the normal high in Washington is 67°F and the normal low 44°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Washington.
- Jan 40° 24°
- Feb 46° 28°
- Mar 57° 36°
- Apr 69° 45°
- May 77° 56°
- Jun 85° 64°
- Jul 87° 67°
- Aug 86° 65°
- Sep 81° 58°
- Oct 70° 47°
- Nov 56° 36°
- Dec 45° 28°
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 Washington each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 24°F. The most precipitation falls in May (5.51 in), the least in February (2.88 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40°F | 24°F | 32.1°F | 3.59 | 2.9 | 8 | <1 | 23 | 9 h 40 min |
| February | 46°F | 28°F | 36.6°F | 2.88 | 2.0 | 6 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 40 min |
| March | 57°F | 36°F | 46.2°F | 4.02 | 1.0 | 9 | <1 | 12 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 69°F | 45°F | 56.9°F | 4.83 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 3 | 13 h 10 min |
| May | 77°F | 56°F | 66.7°F | 5.51 | 0.0 | 11 | 1 | <1 | 14 h 10 min |
| June | 85°F | 64°F | 74.4°F | 5.15 | 0.0 | 9 | 7 | <1 | 14 h 50 min |
| July | 87°F | 67°F | 77.1°F | 4.14 | 0.0 | 8 | 11 | <1 | 14 h 40 min |
| August | 86°F | 65°F | 75.7°F | 3.17 | 0.0 | 7 | 8 | <1 | 13 h 40 min |
| September | 81°F | 58°F | 69.3°F | 3.50 | 0.0 | 6 | 4 | <1 | 12 h 30 min |
| October | 70°F | 47°F | 58.4°F | 3.60 | 0.1 | 6 | <1 | 2 | 11 h 20 min |
| November | 56°F | 36°F | 46.0°F | 3.91 | 0.1 | 7 | <1 | 11 | 10 h 10 min |
| December | 45°F | 28°F | 36.5°F | 3.68 | 3.1 | 7 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 67°F | 46°F | 56.3°F | 47.98 | 9.2 | 92 | 32 | 90 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°C | −5°C | 0.1°C | 91 mm | 7 cm |
| February | 8°C | −2°C | 2.6°C | 73 mm | 5 cm |
| March | 14°C | 2°C | 7.9°C | 102 mm | 3 cm |
| April | 20°C | 7°C | 13.8°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| May | 25°C | 13°C | 19.3°C | 140 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 29°C | 18°C | 23.6°C | 131 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 31°C | 19°C | 25.1°C | 105 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 30°C | 18°C | 24.3°C | 81 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 27°C | 14°C | 20.7°C | 89 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 21°C | 8°C | 14.7°C | 91 mm | 0 cm |
| November | 13°C | 2°C | 7.8°C | 99 mm | 0 cm |
| December | 7°C | −2°C | 2.5°C | 93 mm | 8 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00129253; 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 Washington?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in April, May, June, September and October. Of those, September 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 USC00129253.
When is the last frost in Washington?
In Washington, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after April 10 in half of years and after April 27 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 25 in half of years and before October 11 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 101 year in 10 after April 27; 9 in 10 after March 27
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 251 year in 10 before October 11; 9 in 10 before November 7
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 197 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 220 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after March 30 in half of springs and before November 4 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Washington in zone 6b in ZIP code 47501, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Washington's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (18 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Indiana · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00129253; 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 Washington?
In a normal year in Washington, 32 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 90 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 92 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 32a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 90a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 17high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 92a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 3a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1896) is 113°F, on July 28, 1930; the lowest is −19°F, on February 9, 1899.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1950, with 63.01 in; the snowiest season is 1978–79, with 28.1 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00129253; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00129253. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Washington?
Over a year 75% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Washington, 4.1 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (82%) and December the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 63% | 2.0 |
| February | 64% | 2.7 |
| March | 67% | 3.7 |
| April | 72% | 5.0 |
| May | 73% | 5.6 |
| June | 81% | 6.4 |
| July | 82% | 6.3 |
| August | 82% | 5.7 |
| September | 80% | 4.7 |
| October | 75% | 3.4 |
| November | 71% | 2.4 |
| December | 62% | 1.7 |
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 Washington need?
A normal year in Washington brings 4,494 heating degree days, 16% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1,370 cooling degree days, 51% more than the median (908). Five months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 4,206 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,018 | 0 |
| February | 797 | 0 |
| March | 589 | 5 |
| April | 270 | 28 |
| May | 79 | 132 |
| June | 5 | 289 |
| July | 0 | 375 |
| August | 2 | 333 |
| September | 38 | 169 |
| October | 242 | 38 |
| November | 572 | 2 |
| December | 882 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 4,494 | 1,370 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00129253. 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 Washington been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 59.5°F, 3.2°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 56.3°F. 3 of the 3 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57.5°F | +1.2°F | 44.75 | 22.0 |
| 2023 | 58.8°F | +2.5°F | 38.16 | 4.0 |
| 2024 | 59.5°F | +3.2°F | 49.27 | 7.0 |
Over 89 complete years from 1898 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.7°F per century (+0.10°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00129253; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Washington's climate compare?
Washington is warmer than 91 of the other 98 places with their own NOAA record in Indiana, and wetter than 74. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 56.3°F is warmer than 65%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Washington is Cfa: temperate, no dry season, hot 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 Washington 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.
- Montgomery, IN784 people · 8 mi E
- Wheatland, IN392 people · 6 mi W
- Cannelburg, IN176 people · 11 mi E
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 Washington's climate
What is the coldest month in Washington?
January, with a normal high of 40°F and a normal low of 24°F. The warmest is July (87°F by day, 67°F at night).
Does it snow in Washington?
Yes: 9 inches in a normal year, falling on 5 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (3.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Washington?
May, with 5.51 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 2.88 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Washington in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Washington in zone 6b in ZIP code 47501, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Washington's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Washington?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after April 10; 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
- Indiana climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Petersburg, IN13 miles from this station, 53.9°F a year
- Freelandville, IN16 miles from this station, 54.4°F a year
- Elnora, IN16 miles from this station, 55.8°F a year
- Vincennes, IN17 miles from this station, 55.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made