Climate - Olympia (Washington)

The climate of Olympia is sub-oceanic, with quite cold, rainy winters and mild, fairly sunny summers.
The city is the capital of Washington State and is located in the southernmost part of the Puget Sound (the one where the mitigating influence of the sea is lowest), and approximately 75 km (45 mi) southwest of Seattle. About 85 km (50 mi) east-southeast we find Mount Rainier.
Fog can form at night, especially from October to March.
Although the winter is not very cold, every winter there can be a cold period, with night lows of -7/-8 °C (18/19 °F). Moreover, there can sometimes be cold waves, sometimes even in November, with lows going down to -10 °C (14 °F) or even below. The temperature dropped to -22.3 °C (-8 °F) in January 1979, to -17.8 °C (0 °F) in November 1985, and to -17.2 °C (1 °F) in December 1990.
Snow is quite rare, but given the high precipitation level, a heavy snowfall can occasionally occur. On average, 27 cm (10.6 in) of snow fall per year. For comparison, in the cities south of Olympia located at the same distance from the ocean, snowfall amounts to 17 cm (6.7 in) in Centralia, 13 cm (5.1 in) in Longview, and 10 cm (3.9 in) in Vancouver.

In summer, nights are cool, and sometimes even a little cold, while the days are generally pleasant. However, it can sometimes get hot, and on the hottest days of the year, it can reach 35/36 °C (95/97 °F). In August 1981 and in July 2009, it reached 40 °C (104 °F).
The average temperature of the coldest month (December) is of 3.6 °C (38 °F), that of the warmest month (August) is of 17.9 °C (64 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation amounts to 1,270 millimeters (50 inches) per year: it is therefore quite abundant. It ranges from 15 mm (0.6 in) in the driest month (July) to 220 mm (8.7 in) in the wettest (November). The city is rainier than Seattle because it is located more to the south and therefore is not protected by the Olympic Mountains. However, here too, the high pressure system prevails in summer, which brings good weather. Here is the average precipitation.

The sea temperature ranges between 8 °C (46 °F) and 13 °C (55 °F). So, it is cold all year round. Here are the average sea temperatures.

Best Time

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

Back to the climate of Washington state.