Climate
The most significant difference between Eastern Washington and the western half of the state is its climate. While the west half of the state is located in a rainy oceanic climate, the eastern half receives little rainfall due to the rainshadow created by the Cascade Mountains. Also, due to being farther from the sea, the east side has both hotter summers and colder winters than the west. Most communities in Eastern Washington, for example, have significant yearly snowfall, while in the west snowfall is minimal and not seen every year. The east and west do still have some climatic traits in common, though: more rainfall in winter than summer, a lack of severe storms, and milder temperature ranges than more inland locations.
There is some variation in both rainfall throughout Eastern Washington. Generally, lower elevations are both hotter and drier than higher elevations. This is easily seen in the comparison between low-elevation Richland with higher elevation Spokane.
| Climate data for Richland, Washington | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 71 (22) |
73 (23) |
82 (28) |
92 (33) |
104 (40) |
110 (43) |
110 (43) |
113 (45) |
106 (41) |
89 (32) |
77 (25) |
66 (19) |
113 (45) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 41 (5) |
48 (9) |
58 (14) |
65 (18) |
73 (23) |
80 (27) |
88 (31) |
88 (31) |
78 (26) |
64 (18) |
49 (9) |
38 (3) |
88 (31) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 29 (−2) |
30 (−1) |
35 (2) |
41 (5) |
48 (9) |
54 (12) |
59 (15) |
58 (14) |
50 (10) |
40 (4) |
34 (1) |
28 (−2) |
28 (−2) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −21 (−29) |
−22 (−30) |
11 (−12) |
23 (−5) |
30 (−1) |
38 (3) |
41 (5) |
39 (4) |
31 (−1) |
13 (−11) |
−6 (−21) |
−10 (−23) |
−22 (−30) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 1.01 (25.7) |
0.80 (20.3) |
0.69 (17.5) |
0.60 (15.2) |
0.65 (16.5) |
0.50 (12.7) |
0.25 (6.4) |
0.16 (4.1) |
0.31 (7.9) |
0.54 (13.7) |
1.02 (25.9) |
1.12 (28.4) |
7.6 (193) |
| Source: Weather.com | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Spokane, Washington (Spokane Int'l), 1981–2010 normals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 62 (17) |
63 (17) |
74 (23) |
90 (32) |
97 (36) |
101 (38) |
108 (42) |
108 (42) |
98 (37) |
87 (31) |
70 (21) |
60 (16) |
108 (42) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 34.5 (1.4) |
39.7 (4.3) |
49.0 (9.4) |
57.3 (14.1) |
66.5 (19.2) |
73.9 (23.3) |
83.4 (28.6) |
83.0 (28.3) |
73.0 (22.8) |
58.1 (14.5) |
41.7 (5.4) |
32.3 (0.2) |
57.7 (14.3) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 23.7 (−4.6) |
25.4 (−3.7) |
30.6 (−0.8) |
35.8 (2.1) |
42.8 (6.0) |
49.5 (9.7) |
55.3 (12.9) |
54.8 (12.7) |
46.4 (8.0) |
36.3 (2.4) |
28.8 (−1.8) |
21.5 (−5.8) |
37.6 (3.1) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −30 (−34) |
−24 (−31) |
−10 (−23) |
14 (−10) |
24 (−4) |
33 (1) |
37 (3) |
35 (2) |
22 (−6) |
7 (−14) |
−21 (−29) |
−25 (−32) |
−30 (−34) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 1.79 (45.5) |
1.33 (33.8) |
1.61 (40.9) |
1.28 (32.5) |
1.62 (41.1) |
1.25 (31.8) |
.64 (16.3) |
.59 (15) |
.67 (17) |
1.18 (30) |
2.30 (58.4) |
2.29 (58.2) |
16.55 (420.4) |
| Snowfall inches (cm) | 12.0 (30.5) |
7.2 (18.3) |
3.7 (9.4) |
1.0 (2.5) |
.1 (0.3) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
.1 (0.3) |
7.2 (18.3) |
14.9 (37.8) |
46.2 (117.3) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 13.4 | 10.4 | 11.6 | 10.1 | 10.2 | 7.9 | 5.0 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 7.8 | 13.7 | 13.2 | 112.2 |
| Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 8.9 | 5.1 | 4.1 | 1.1 | .3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .2 | 4.7 | 9.8 | 34.2 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 77.5 | 118.7 | 198.4 | 243.0 | 297.6 | 324.0 | 381.3 | 341.0 | 270.0 | 192.2 | 75.0 | 58.9 | 2,577.6 |
| Source #1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: HKO (sun only 1961−1990) | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Eastern Washington
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