Washington, DC climate: monthly averages and frost dates
Washington, DC has cool winters and warm summers by this site's scale, with wet annual precipitation. The figures are the 1991–2020 climate normals for NOAA station USW00013743 (WASHINGTON REAGAN AP), 4 mi (6 km) in a straight line from the city's center point (US Census).
- Warmest month high
- 89.6°F
- July
- Coldest month mean
- 37.5°F
- January
- Precipitation
- 41.8 in
- per year
- Snowfall
- 13.7 in
- per year
- Median last frost
- March 24
- 32°F, spring
- Median first frost
- November 18
- 32°F, autumn
Monthly averages in Washington
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Mean °F | Precip. in | Snow in | Days ≥0.01 in | Days ≥90°F | Nights ≤32°F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44.8 | 30.1 | 37.5 | 2.86 | 4.9 | 9.7 | 0.0 | 19.5 |
| February | 48.3 | 31.8 | 40.0 | 2.62 | 5.0 | 9.3 | 0.0 | 15.4 |
| March | 56.5 | 38.6 | 47.6 | 3.50 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 0.0 | 7.5 |
| April | 68.0 | 48.4 | 58.2 | 3.21 | 0.0 | 10.8 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| May | 76.5 | 58.0 | 67.2 | 3.94 | 0.0 | 11.6 | 2.1 | 0.0 |
| June | 85.1 | 67.5 | 76.3 | 4.20 | 0.0 | 10.6 | 7.5 | 0.0 |
| July | 89.6 | 72.4 | 81.0 | 4.33 | 0.0 | 10.5 | 15.4 | 0.0 |
| August | 87.8 | 71.0 | 79.4 | 3.25 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 10.8 | 0.0 |
| September | 80.7 | 64.1 | 72.4 | 3.93 | 0.0 | 8.7 | 3.6 | 0.0 |
| October | 69.4 | 52.2 | 60.8 | 3.66 | 0.0 | 8.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 58.2 | 41.6 | 49.9 | 2.91 | 0.1 | 8.4 | 0.0 | 3.8 |
| December | 48.8 | 34.5 | 41.7 | 3.41 | 1.7 | 10.1 | 0.0 | 13.3 |
| Year | 67.8 | 50.8 | 59.3 | 41.82 | 13.7 | 117.7 | 40.0 | 60.1 |
How cold is winter in Washington?
Winters in Washington are cool by this site's scale (coldest-month mean 32 to under 45°F). The coldest month is January, with a mean temperature of 37.5°F (3.1°C), a normal daily high of 44.8°F (7.1°C) and a normal daily low of 30.1°F (−1.1°C).
The station averages 60.1 nights a year at or below 32°F and 7.4 days when the high stays at or below 32°F.
The normal daily low is at or below freezing in January and February.
How hot is summer in Washington?
Summers in Washington are warm by this site's scale (hottest-month high 80 to under 90°F). July has the highest normal daily high, 89.6°F (32.0°C), with nights averaging 72.4°F (22.4°C).
The high reaches 90°F or more on 40.0 days in a normal year.
What is the wettest month in Washington?
Washington gets 41.82 in (1062 mm) of precipitation in a normal year, which this site classes as wet (40 to under 60 in a year). The wettest month is July with 4.33 in (110 mm); the driest is February with 2.62 in (67 mm).
Measurable precipitation (0.01 in or more) falls on 117.7 days a year.
Does it snow in Washington?
Normal annual snowfall in Washington is 13.7 in (35 cm), which this site classes as moderate (12 to under 36 in a year).
February is the snowiest month, with 5.0 in (13 cm).
A day with 1.0 in or more of snowfall comes 3.7 times a year on average.
Which months are mild in Washington?
4 months in Washington meet this site's comfort thresholds (normal high 65–85°F, low 45°F or higher, fewer than 10 days with 0.10 in or more of precipitation): April, May, September and October.
June misses by one threshold only (normal high 85.1°F, above the 85°F limit).
Thresholds and their limits: methodology.
Frost dates and growing season in Washington
In Washington the median last spring night at or below 32°F is March 24, and the median first autumn one is November 18 (NOAA P50 dates). NOAA's median length of the freeze-free season is 241 days. NOAA takes that median over each year's own season, so it need not equal the 239 days between the two median dates.
There is still a 10% chance of a 32°F night on or after April 6, and a 10% chance that the first one has come by November 5.
The chance that the last spring 32°F night comes on or after March 7 is 90%.
For a hard freeze (28°F or lower) the median dates are March 12 in spring and December 3 in autumn.
| Chance | Last spring 32°F night on or after | First autumn 32°F night by | Freeze-free season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% | April 6 | November 5 | 265 |
| 20% | April 2 | November 8 | 256 |
| 30% | March 30 | November 12 | 250 |
| 40% | March 27 | November 15 | 245 |
| 50% | March 24 | November 18 | 241 |
| 60% | March 21 | November 21 | 237 |
| 70% | March 17 | November 25 | 232 |
| 80% | March 14 | November 30 | 226 |
| 90% | March 7 | December 6 | 220 |
| Threshold | Median last date (spring) | Median first date (autumn or winter) | Median season, days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 36°F | April 3 | November 6 | 216 |
| 32°F | March 24 | November 18 | 241 |
| 28°F | March 12 | December 3 | 268 |
| 24°F | March 2 | December 22 | 293 |
| 20°F | February 15 | January 4 | 318 |
| 16°F | January 31 | January 14 | 337 |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% | 100% | 94% | 24% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 3% | 80% | 99% |
Nearby and similar places
Of the places on this site, the closest to Washington by station distance are Philadelphia, PA at 119 mi (192 km), New York, NY at 210 mi (339 km) and Buffalo, NY at 297 mi (478 km).
Among places whose winter, summer and precipitation words are each within one band of Washington's (winter: cool, summer: warm, precipitation: wet), the closest monthly temperature and precipitation patterns are Philadelphia, PA, Charlotte, NC and New York, NY.
Compared with Philadelphia, PA, Washington's peak-month normal high is 1.8°F (1.0°C) higher, its coldest-month mean is 3.8°F (2.1°C) higher, and its annual precipitation is 2.29 in less.
| Place | Listed as | Station distance | Coldest mean °F | Warmest high °F | Precip. in/yr | Snow in/yr | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington, DC | this page | – | 37.5 | 89.6 | 41.8 | 13.7 | March 24 |
| Philadelphia, PA | nearby, similar | 119 mi (192 km) | 33.7 | 87.8 | 44.1 | 23.1 | April 2 |
| New York, NY | nearby, similar | 210 mi (339 km) | 33.7 | 84.9 | 49.5 | 29.8 | March 30 |
| Buffalo, NY | nearby | 297 mi (478 km) | 25.5 | 80.2 | 40.7 | 95.4 | April 24 |
| Charlotte, NC | similar | 331 mi (532 km) | 42.1 | 90.3 | 43.6 | 3.5 | March 30 |
How nearby and similar places are chosen: methodology.
Source and station
The data for Washington come from NOAA station WASHINGTON REAGAN AP, VA US (USW00013743) at 38.8483, -77.0342, elevation 10 ft (3 m). It lies 4 mi (6 km) in a straight line from the center point of Washington city, the “internal point” in the US Census 2024 Gazetteer.
Each monthly normal used here rests on at least 25 years of data from 1991–2020 (NOAA's per-field year counts).
NOAA completeness flags on the monthly fields used here:
- S: Standard: meets WMO standards for data availability for 24 or more years.
Cite the data as:
Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anthony; Lawrimore, Jay (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). Station USW00013743 (WASHINGTON REAGAN AP, VA US). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/wck8-er13. Accessed 2026-10-09.
Palecki, Michael; Durre, Imke; Applequist, Scott; Arguez, Anthony; Lawrimore, Jay (2021). U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Annual/Seasonal Climate Normals (1991-2020). Station USW00013743 (WASHINGTON REAGAN AP, VA US). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/4ek7-fk11. Accessed 2026-10-09.
Files used: monthly normals CSV, annual/seasonal normals CSV (retrieved 2026-10-09). The values on this page as JSON: /us/dc/washington/data.json.