General & Geography
According to abbreviationfinder, Seattle is not far from the Canadian border on the west coast of the USA. The city has around 700,000 inhabitants (3.8 million with the neighboring towns of the metropolitan region).
This makes it the most populous city in the state of Washington and at the same time the economic center. Seattle is particularly well-known as the location of the Boeing works, even if they are not located directly in the city, and thus as the largest location for aircraft construction worldwide.
Seattle is also called the Emerald City. This name comes from the numerous green spaces in the city. Puget Sound, an approximately 150 km long arm of the Pacific Ocean, extends west of Seattle. Lake Washington is also in the urban area. This is connected to the Puget Sound by a canal.
In the immediate vicinity of the city runs the cascade range, a mountain range up to 4000 meters high. From the urban area you can also see Mount Rainier. This 4,392-foot peak is of volcanic origin and is the tallest mountain in Washington and the third tallest peak in the United States outside of Alaska.
Climate in Seattle
Seattle has an arid (dry) climate in summer; the other months, however, tend to be humid (damp). It is usually pleasantly mild in the west coast metropolis due to its proximity to the Pacific. The highest temperatures are reached with an average of 24 ° C in July and August. Rain rarely falls in summer.
From October onwards, not only will the hours of sunshine decrease in Seattle, but temperatures will also move into more autumnal areas, similar to those in Germany. From mid-October to the end of March, the probability and amount of rain in the region also increase noticeably. The wettest months are December and January.
Snow is comparatively rare in Seattle, only about every three years there is heavy snowfall that lasts and stays for several days. However, in the recent past there have been repeated snowstorms on the west coast of the USA, which also hit Seattle. As the temperatures in the neighboring hills often level around freezing point in winter, dangerous frostbite on the roads occurred overnight. However, these are exceptional situations and by no means the rule.
When is the best time to travel to Seattle?
City trips are known to be less weather dependent than other types of vacation travel. Seattle offers many options for tourists with its wide range of attractions, cultural sights and shopping opportunities in all weathers and in all seasons. Still, the regular showers in Seattle’s winter are not for everyone.
We therefore recommend May to mid-October as the best travel time for Seattle. As in almost all interesting travel destinations in Canada and the USA, July and August are the absolute high season with correspondingly expensive hotel prices. Our editorial team’s favorite travel time is therefore mainly in the marginal months of June and September with reasonable prices and ideal conditions!
Temperatures, precipitation, sunshine
| Jan | Feb | March | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Daytime temperature | 7 ° C | 10 ° C | 13 ° C | 15 ° C | 19 ° C | 22 ° C | 24 ° C | 24 ° C | 22 ° C | 17 ° C | 11 ° C | 8 ° C |
| Night temperature | 1 ° C | 3 ° C | 3 ° C | 6 ° C | 9 ° C | 11 ° C | 13 ° C | 14 ° C | 12 ° C | 8 ° C | 6 ° C | 2 ° C |
| Water temperature | 7 ° C | 8 ° C | 8 ° C | 10 ° C | 12 ° C | 14 ° C | 14 ° C | 15 ° C | 14 ° C | 11 ° C | 10 ° C | 8 ° C |
| Precipitation in mm | 132 | 104 | 95 | 66 | 51 | 43 | 25 | 33 | 45 | 88 | 125 | 136 |
| Rainy days | 17 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 18 |
| Hours of sunshine | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Sunrise | 7:50 | 7:15 | 7:25 | 6:20 | 5:30 | 5:10 | 5:25 | 6:05 | 6:45 | 7:30 | 7:15 | 7:50 |
| Sunset | 16:45 | 17:30 | 19:15 | 19:55 | 20:40 | 21:10 | 21:05 | 20:25 | 19:25 | 18:20 | 16:35 | 16:20 |
Temperatures
The annual average temperature is 11.6 ° C. For comparison: Munich reaches an average of 8.6 ° C, in Berlin it is 9.6 ° C. The warmest month is August (19 ° C), coldest month of January with mean values of 4.2 ° C. The maximum water temperature is 15 ° C. That is hardly suitable for swimming.
Precipitation
The annual precipitation is 943 mm on 123 days with precipitation. For comparison: In Munich, 967 mm, in Berlin 570 mm, precipitation is measured annually. There is no rainy season, i.e. months with more than 175 mm of precipitation. In the months of January, February, March and December snowfall is possible.
Sunshine
As our climate table shows, July is the sunniest month with an average of 10.1 hours of sunshine per day. On average over the year the sun shines for 6.3 hours per day. For comparison: In Munich and Berlin, the sun shines an average of 4.7 hours per day throughout the year.
Cities nearby
The following major towns are nearby and have similar climates: Tacoma, Bellevue and Everett.
Sights and attractions
The most famous landmark of Seattle is the Space Needle. The 184-meter-high observation tower with its characteristic appearance was built for the 1962 World’s Fair. Located about two kilometers north of the city center, the observation deck overlooks the entire city and its surroundings, including the Cascade Range and Puget Sound. The oldest revolving restaurant in the USA is also located at the top. The site of the 1962 World’s Fair also offers numerous attractions. The exhibition “Chihuly Garden and Glass”. In the various rooms and in the garden, visitors interested in art will find installations consisting of glass sculptures and light by the glass artist Dale Chihuly. From here the monorail also travels to the city center.
After a short drive of around two minutes, the route ends there in a shopping center. Shopaholics get their money’s worth here one hundred percent. If you prefer something a bit more alternative, you should definitely not miss a visit to the Pike Place Market. Art studios, comic and record shops are lined up in the winding building. Right next to the peculiar shopping center is a no less bizarre work of art. More than a million chewing gum once stuck to a 2.5 meter high and 16.5 meter long wall. In 2016 the city ordered the removal of the chewing gum amid loud and worldwide protest. Apparently with questionable success. After the city workers had spent around 130 hours removing the sticky mass, The first chewing gum could be found on the wall after just six more hours. Since then, the number of chewing gum on the wall has been growing again and with it the sweet smell that fills the alley on hot summer days.
The Museum of Flight is an absolute must for tourists who are enthusiastic about technology. This is located on Boeing Field, the company’s own airfield from the aircraft manufacturer of the same name. Naturally, Boeing models predominate in the exhibition. The showpiece of the collection is the first Boeing 747 ever built. The jumbo jet was once named “City of Everett”. The nearby town of Everett, Boeing’s main location, was the inspiration for this. With a volume of more than 13,000,000 cubic meters, the production hall here is the second largest building in the world.
Seattle weather in March, April, and May
Average daily temperatures between 13 ° C and 19 ° C can be expected over the next three months. In Seattle it gets warmest in May, but March is noticeably cooler.
Do you want to go on a beach holiday? The water temperatures are in March, April and May 8-12 ° C. So the weather is not suitable for swimming.
The expected rainfall is around 12 days in March, around 10 days in April and around 8 days in May.
In the period from March to May , the sun shines an average of 6 to 8 hours a day. The sunniest weather in Seattle is in May, but with less sun you have to get by in March.
