The coldest week in Washington, station by station
The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at Washington reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
SeattleSeattle Tacoma International Airport, USW00024233
Dec 16 to 22
37°F
15°FJan 13, 2024
Nov 28
0°FJan 31, 1950records since 1948
SpokaneSpokane International Airport, USW00024157
Dec 23 to 29
23°F
−10°FJan 13, 2024
Oct 15
−25°FDec 30, 1968records since 1889
YakimaYakima Air Terminal, USW00024243
Dec 19 to 25
23°F
−8°FFeb 7, 2019
Oct 10
−25°FFeb 1, 1950records since 1946
BellinghamBellingham International Airport, USW00024217
Dec 23 to 29
34°F
3°FJan 12, 2024
Oct 29
−2°F3 times, last on Feb 1, 1950records since 1949
WenatcheeWenatchee Pangborn Airport, USW00094239
Dec 27 to Jan 2
23°F
−10°FJan 13, 2024
Oct 19
−21°FDec 30, 1968records since 1959
Normals from NOAA NCEI; nightly lows from GHCN-Daily, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026.
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Seattle against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 5 Washington reference stations.
At Seattle it is usually Dec 16 to 22, with a normal low of 37°F. At the other reference stations: Spokane Dec 23 to 29 (23°F), Yakima Dec 19 to 25 (23°F), Bellingham Dec 23 to 29 (34°F) and Wenatchee Dec 27 to Jan 2 (23°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Seattle stays above 32°F all winter; it bottoms out at 37°F. Single nights still freeze: the first came around Nov 28 in the median of the last 10 winters.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Seattle was 15°F on Jan 13, 2024, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was 20°F. Elsewhere: Spokane −10°F on Jan 13, 2024, Yakima −8°F on Feb 7, 2019 and Bellingham 3°F on Jan 12, 2024. The record at the Seattle station is 0°F, on Jan 31, 1950, in daily records since 1948.
At Seattle a typical recent winter brings 22 nights at 32°F or colder and 1 at 20°F or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Seattle Tacoma International Airport (USW00024233), Spokane International Airport (USW00024157), Yakima Air Terminal (USW00024243), Bellingham International Airport (USW00024217) and Wenatchee Pangborn Airport (USW00094239). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
