Climate - Forks (Washington)

The climate of Forks is sub-oceanic, with quite mild, very rainy winters and mild, quite sunny summers.
The town is located in northwestern Washington state, 18 km (11 miles) away from the ocean, and west of the Olympic Mountains. We are in a particularly humid and rainy area. In the contiguous United States, there are no other lowland areas so rainy: you have to go to Alaska or Hawaii.

Although the temperatures are not usually very low, wind, humidity and rain exacerbate the feeling of cold. In spring, the temperature rises slowly, and in May, there are still very cool, rainy days. In late spring and summer, fog can form at night and in the early morning. In summer, however, there are many nice days.
Occasionally in winter, sometimes even as early as November, there may be cold spells, in which the temperature can drop down to -7/-8 °C (18/19 °F) or even below.
Given the generally mild climate, snowfalls are rare, however, a more abundant snowfall than usual can occasionally occur. In a year, 20 cm (8 in) of snow fall.
In summer, it rarely gets hot. On the hottest days of the year, the temperature can reach 32/33 °C, but it may not even reach 30 °C (86 °F) for a whole month. However, in August 1981, it reached 39 °C (102 °F).
The average temperature of the coldest month (December) is of 4 °C (39 °F), that of the warmest month (August) is of 16.7 °C (62 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation amounts to 3,040 millimeters (119.7 inches) per year: it is therefore very abundant. It ranges from 65 mm (2.6 in) in the driest months (July, August) to 475 mm (18.7 in) in the wettest (November). Here is the average precipitation.


At the Quillayute airport, there are on average around 1,530 sunshine hours per year. We are probably in the dullest lowland area of the United States. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

On the Pacific coast (see La Push), the sea temperature ranges between 9 °C (48 °F) and 15 °C (59 °F). So, it is cold all year round. Here are the average sea temperatures.

Best Time

The best time to visit Forks is summer, especially in July and August, since it is the mildest, driest and sunniest period of the year. June and September are also acceptable months.

Back to the climate of Washington state.