Waterville, Washington climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Waterville's normal year runs from 16°F December nights to 84°F July afternoons, with 11.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 7.3°C, December lows of −9°C, July highs of 29°C, 286 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationWaterville
- Station IDUSC00459012
- Location47.65°N 120.08°W
- Elevation2,664 ft (812 m)
- Population1,148
On October 22, the normal high in Waterville is 54°F and the normal low 31°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 19%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Waterville.
- Jan 31° 17°
- Feb 36° 19°
- Mar 48° 26°
- Apr 57° 33°
- May 67° 41°
- Jun 74° 46°
- Jul 84° 53°
- Aug 83° 53°
- Sep 74° 45°
- Oct 58° 33°
- Nov 40° 24°
- Dec 31° 16°
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 Waterville each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 84°F; December the coldest, with normal lows of 16°F. The most precipitation falls in December (1.99 in), the least in September (0.26 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F | 17°F | 24.0°F | 1.50 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 50 min |
| February | 36°F | 19°F | 27.6°F | 0.90 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 10 h 10 min |
| March | 48°F | 26°F | 36.6°F | 0.95 | 6 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 50 min |
| April | 57°F | 33°F | 44.8°F | 0.67 | 4 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 30 min |
| May | 67°F | 41°F | 53.9°F | 1.07 | 6 | <1 | 3 | 15 h 10 min |
| June | 74°F | 46°F | 60.0°F | 0.96 | 5 | 2 | <1 | 16 h |
| July | 84°F | 53°F | 68.1°F | 0.47 | 3 | 9 | <1 | 15 h 40 min |
| August | 83°F | 53°F | 67.7°F | 0.27 | 2 | 8 | <1 | 14 h 20 min |
| September | 74°F | 45°F | 59.4°F | 0.26 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 h 40 min |
| October | 58°F | 33°F | 45.3°F | 0.95 | 6 | <1 | 11 | 11 h |
| November | 40°F | 24°F | 31.9°F | 1.26 | 7 | <1 | 24 | 9 h 20 min |
| December | 31°F | 16°F | 23.3°F | 1.99 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 8 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 57°F | 34°F | 45.2°F | 11.25 | 63 | 20 | 161 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°C | −8°C | −4.4°C | 38 mm |
| February | 2°C | −7°C | −2.4°C | 23 mm |
| March | 9°C | −4°C | 2.6°C | 24 mm |
| April | 14°C | 0°C | 7.1°C | 17 mm |
| May | 19°C | 5°C | 12.2°C | 27 mm |
| June | 23°C | 8°C | 15.6°C | 24 mm |
| July | 29°C | 12°C | 20.1°C | 12 mm |
| August | 28°C | 11°C | 19.8°C | 7 mm |
| September | 23°C | 7°C | 15.2°C | 7 mm |
| October | 14°C | 1°C | 7.4°C | 24 mm |
| November | 5°C | −5°C | −0.1°C | 32 mm |
| December | −1°C | −9°C | −4.8°C | 51 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Entiat (12 miles away), gets 40 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00459012; 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 Waterville?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in May, June, July, August and September. Of those, August 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 USC00459012.
When is the last frost in Waterville?
In Waterville, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 14 in half of years and after June 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 1 in half of years and before September 18 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
- May 141 year in 10 after June 4; 9 in 10 after April 28
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 11 year in 10 before September 18; 9 in 10 before October 14
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 140 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 164 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 29 in half of springs and before October 12 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Waterville in zone 7a in ZIP code 98843, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Waterville's NOAA station is in zone 6b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (15 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 USC00459012; 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 Waterville?
In a normal year in Waterville, 20 days a year reach 90°F (1 of them 100°F or more), 161 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 63 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 20a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 161a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 48high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 63a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1893) is 104°F, on July 15, 1911; the lowest is −33°F, on December 30, 1968.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1948, with 24.26 in; the snowiest season is 1971–72, with 91.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00459012; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00459012. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Waterville?
Over a year 73% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Waterville, 3.8 kWh per square metre a day. July is the sunniest month (86%) and December the cloudiest (54%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 56% | 1.2 |
| February | 64% | 2.1 |
| March | 63% | 3.1 |
| April | 67% | 4.6 |
| May | 70% | 5.7 |
| June | 74% | 6.3 |
| July | 86% | 7.0 |
| August | 85% | 5.9 |
| September | 79% | 4.3 |
| October | 69% | 2.5 |
| November | 58% | 1.3 |
| December | 54% | 0.9 |
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 Waterville need?
A normal year in Waterville brings 7,533 heating degree days, 40% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 353 cooling degree days, 61% 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 1,949 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,270 | 0 |
| February | 1,047 | 0 |
| March | 881 | 0 |
| April | 608 | 0 |
| May | 353 | 9 |
| June | 185 | 35 |
| July | 49 | 147 |
| August | 48 | 130 |
| September | 199 | 33 |
| October | 611 | 1 |
| November | 993 | 0 |
| December | 1,291 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,533 | 353 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00459012. 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 Waterville been warmer than normal lately?
Over 73 complete years from 1890 to 2017, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.9°F per century (+0.10°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Waterville's climate compare?
Waterville is warmer than 2 of the other 95 places with their own NOAA record in Washington, and wetter than 19. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 45.2°F is warmer than 20%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Waterville is BSk: cold semi-arid steppe. 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 Waterville's climate
What is the coldest month in Waterville?
December, with a normal high of 31°F and a normal low of 16°F. The warmest is July (84°F by day, 53°F at night).
Does it snow in Waterville?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Waterville's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Entiat (12 miles away), records 40 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Waterville?
December, with 1.99 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is September with 0.26 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Waterville in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Waterville in zone 7a in ZIP code 98843, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Waterville's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −3°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 6b.
How late can frost come in Waterville?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 14; in one year in ten it comes after June 4. Waiting until June 4 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Washington climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Entiat, WA12 miles from this station, 51.4°F a year
- Chelan, WA13 miles from this station, 50.1°F a year
- Wenatchee, WA18 miles from this station, 51.2°F a year
- Plain, WA28 miles from this station, 45.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made