#8 of 35 US cities · 2024
How pleasant is the weather in Seattle, WA?
In 2024, 61% of daytime hours in Seattle were enjoyable outdoors: 2,916 of 4,758 hours between 8 AM and 9 PM. That's #8 of 35 major US cities. September was the best month and January the worst.
- Enjoyable
- 61%
- Comfortable temp
- 63%
- Too cold
- 35%
- Too hot
- 2%
- Lost to rain
- 0.8%
- Lost to gusts
- 1.0%
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 | 19% | 19% | 81% | 0% | 0.0% | 43°F |
| February | 36% | 36% | 64% | 0% | 0.0% | 46°F |
| March | 55% | 55% | 45% | 0% | 0.2% | 49°F |
| April | 65% | 66% | 34% | 0% | 0.3% | 53°F |
| May | 78% | 83% | 17% | 0% | 2.5% | 58°F |
| June | 84% | 91% | 8% | 1% | 2.3% | 64°F |
| July | 86% | 87% | 0% | 13% | 1.5% | 73°F |
| August | 92% | 92% | 1% | 6% | 0.0% | 68°F |
| September | 94% | 96% | 2% | 3% | 1.5% | 64°F |
| October | 70% | 74% | 26% | 0% | 1.7% | 56°F |
| November | 35% | 36% | 64% | 0% | 0.0% | 48°F |
| December | 22% | 22% | 78% | 0% | 0.0% | 45°F |
What limits outdoor time
Seattle almost never gets too hot during the day. Cold is what costs it hours, mostly November through March.
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 17°F cooler in summer, but nowhere meaningfully warmer in winter. Stretch it to two hours (about 90 miles) and you can find places 29°F cooler in summer. Distances are straight-line; temperatures are PRISM 1991–2020 averages.
How Seattle, WA compares
- San Francisco, CA · #5 · 77%
- Sacramento, CA · #6 · 65%
- Portland, OR · #7 · 63%
- Denver, CO · #9 · 59%
- Albuquerque, NM · #10 · 57%
- Charlotte, NC · #11 · 54%
Questions
How many pleasant outdoor hours does Seattle, WA get?
2,916 hours in 2024, counting only 8 AM to 9 PM. That's 61% of daytime hours, about 224 days' worth of daytime, and ranks #8 of 35 major US cities.
What is the best month to be outside in Seattle, WA?
September, when 94% of daytime hours were enjoyable. August (92%) and July (86%) came next. January was the worst month, at 19%.
What makes outdoor time less pleasant in Seattle, WA?
Mostly temperature. 35% of daytime hours were too cold and 2% too hot. Rain took another 0.8%, and gusty wind 1.0%.
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.