#7 of 35 US cities · 2024
How pleasant is the weather in Portland, OR?
In 2024, 63% of daytime hours in Portland were enjoyable outdoors: 2,977 of 4,758 hours between 8 AM and 9 PM. That's #7 of 35 major US cities. June was the best month and January the worst.
- Enjoyable
- 63%
- Comfortable temp
- 65%
- Too cold
- 29%
- Too hot
- 6%
- Lost to rain
- 1.1%
- Lost to gusts
- 1.2%
Month by month
Share of each month's daytime hours (8 AM to 9 PM). Avg temp is the plain air temperature over those hours, not feels-like.
| Month | Enjoyable | Comfortable | Too cold | Too hot | Rain | Avg temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22% | 22% | 78% | 0% | 0.0% | 42°F |
| February | 42% | 44% | 56% | 0% | 0.5% | 47°F |
| March | 57% | 60% | 40% | 0% | 1.0% | 50°F |
| April | 75% | 78% | 22% | 0% | 1.0% | 55°F |
| May | 84% | 90% | 7% | 3% | 3.7% | 61°F |
| June | 87% | 92% | 3% | 6% | 1.8% | 68°F |
| July | 67% | 67% | 0% | 33% | 0.0% | 78°F |
| August | 78% | 80% | 0% | 20% | 0.7% | 74°F |
| September | 86% | 87% | 1% | 12% | 1.0% | 69°F |
| October | 80% | 85% | 15% | 0% | 2.2% | 58°F |
| November | 41% | 43% | 57% | 0% | 0.5% | 48°F |
| December | 30% | 31% | 69% | 0% | 0.2% | 45°F |
What limits outdoor time
Cold costs Portland more hours than heat does: 29% of daytime hours were too cold, 6% too hot.
Sun or shade makes less difference here: 60% of comfortable hours were pleasant in both.
Weather escapes within driving distance
An hour's drive (about 45 miles) reaches places that average 10°F cooler in summer, but nowhere meaningfully warmer in winter. Stretch it to two hours (about 90 miles) and you can find places 28°F cooler in summer and 4°F warmer in winter. Distances are straight-line; temperatures are PRISM 1991–2020 averages.
How Portland, OR compares
- San Jose, CA · #4 · 80%
- San Francisco, CA · #5 · 77%
- Sacramento, CA · #6 · 65%
- Seattle, WA · #8 · 61%
- Denver, CO · #9 · 59%
- Albuquerque, NM · #10 · 57%
Questions
How many pleasant outdoor hours does Portland, OR get?
2,977 hours in 2024, counting only 8 AM to 9 PM. That's 63% of daytime hours, about 229 days' worth of daytime, and ranks #7 of 35 major US cities.
What is the best month to be outside in Portland, OR?
June, when 87% of daytime hours were enjoyable. September (86%) and May (84%) came next. January was the worst month, at 22%.
What makes outdoor time less pleasant in Portland, OR?
Mostly temperature. 29% of daytime hours were too cold and 6% too hot. Rain took another 1.1%, and gusty wind 1.2%.
Scored with the default rule: 48–79°F feels-like in sun or shade, under 1 mm/h of rain, gusts under 27 mph, 8 AM to 9 PM. If you run hotter or colder than that, set your own range on the map. How the score works.