Washington weather by month & the best time to visit
🇺🇸 United States · major city break · humid subtropical climate
The best time to visit Washington is August — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 75/100), with October and July close behind. Washington averages about 2,293 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 31°C / 88°F and roughly 95 mm of rain in August.
Jump to: month-by-month table · nearby alternatives · embed this data
- Sun hours / year
- 2,293
- Sunniest month
- August
- Peak score
- 75/100
- Rain / year
- 1,118 mm
- Snow / year
- ≈1.1 m
- Midday UV at peak
- 7 (high)
- Population
- 4.3M
- Elevation
- 87 m
When is the best time to visit Washington?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Washington is August, then October and July. The dullest month is January (0/100, 65 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Washington?
Washington gets a moderate 2,293 hours of sunshine a year. 75 Sunshine Score points separate August (75) from January (0), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #279 of 580 destinations in United States for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,279 hours. The year's 1,118 mm of rain spreads fairly evenly across the months, with no pronounced dry season.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 4° / 39°F | -5° / 23°F | 65 mm | 2 |
| February | 0 | 6° / 43°F | -4° / 25°F | 67 mm | 3 |
| March | 26 | 12° / 54°F | 0° / 32°F | 81 mm | 4 |
| April | 69 | 19° / 66°F | 6° / 43°F | 94 mm | 5 |
| May | 70 | 24° / 75°F | 12° / 54°F | 120 mm | 6 |
| June | 71 | 29° / 84°F | 17° / 63°F | 116 mm | 7 |
| July | 72 | 32° / 90°F | 20° / 68°F | 109 mm | 7 |
| August | 75 | 31° / 88°F | 19° / 66°F | 95 mm | 7 |
| September | 72 | 27° / 81°F | 15° / 59°F | 108 mm | 6 |
| October | 74 | 20° / 68°F | 8° / 46°F | 99 mm | 4 |
| November | 33 | 13° / 55°F | 2° / 36°F | 77 mm | 2 |
| December | 0 | 6° / 43°F | -2° / 28°F | 87 mm | 1 |
See Washington on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Baltimore United States · 73 km · best in Oct · 2,241 h sun/yr
- Charlottesville United States · 125 km · best in Apr · 2,308 h sun/yr
- Harrisburg United States · 151 km · best in May · 2,080 h sun/yr
- Richmond United States · 160 km · best in Apr · 2,401 h sun/yr
- Philadelphia United States · 216 km · best in May · 2,267 h sun/yr
- Newport News United States · 218 km · best in May · 2,431 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Hagerstown United States · 88 km · 2,175 h sun/yr · best in Aug
- Weyers Cave United States · 146 km · 2,308 h sun/yr · best in Aug
Head-to-head
How Washington compares month by month: Washington vs Baltimore · Washington vs Harrisburg · Washington vs Charlottesville · Washington vs Latrobe · all comparisons
Put the Washington sunshine badge on your site
A compact badge showing Washington's sunshine at a glance — free to embed under CC BY 4.0. Paste this wherever you'd like it to appear:
Live preview — this is exactly what your readers see: