Warmest location in WA during winter months? (Seattle, Tacoma: live, design)

[MtnSurfer]

While WA is not known for warm weather during its winter months, I'm curious what area of the state might have the warmest winter temps? That is relatively speaking, of course.

Unlike southern Oregon, there are no real 'banana belts' that I'm aware of in WA. For example, here's the next 14-day winter forecast for Brookings which has got to be the warmest spot in the entire PNW this time of year. I doubt anything comes close to this in terms of temps, hence its 'banana belt' designation.






I've visited Brookings for a winter warm-up and it can actually get quite pleasant relative to other PNW locations. Upper 50s and 60s with sun during winter are not that uncommon.

For WA, I'm thinking 'maybe' Vancouver being more southwest? It doesn't seem like coastal WA, even at it's southern border, ever gets all that warm, especially during winter. WA just doesn't really have a standout warmer spot I can think of. Maybe we're a 'little' warmer down here, perhaps?

Here's Vancouver's 14-day forecast. Could any other place get warmer? Just curious.





Derek

[grega94]

The warmest place in winter reliably is probably going to be Long Beach, although the entire coast will have similar temperatures. But it’s definitely not Vancouver and there places in the Puget sound that are warmer in winter than Vancouver. Vancouver is inland so not as moderated as the coast.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by grega94

The warmest place in winter reliably is probably going to be Long Beach, although the entire coast will have similar temperatures. But it’s definitely not Vancouver and there places in the Puget sound that are warmer in winter than Vancouver. Vancouver is inland so not as moderated as the coast.

Interesting. There are many factors which can attribute to generally warmer temps especially during winter months as storms roll down from the north. And I've lived along the coast almost my entire life, though in CA. So, I'm very aware the ocean plays a major role in regulating temps. It just that things 'seem' a bit different here along the WA coast. It's so much wetter than the rest of the state (85-120+ inches). That's not to say the temps are colder. It just may 'feel' colder, damper and windier than some inland locations due to all that rain.

This winter in particular seems drier than most. So, that should make the coast a bit warmer if we look at the ocean normalizing affect. Looking at the next 14-day forecast, it's about the same as here in Vancouver except a bit windier. I don't think there's really a discernable difference. Though I realize this is just a snapshot in time. I wouldn't say one is necessarily warmer than the other with the exception of night time temps. The coast is usually always warmer at night during winter months.





Derek

[grega94]

Well if you want sun in the middle of winter but also relatively warm, then the tri-cities is a good candidate. They are the warmest location east of the cascades.

[StealthRabbit]

Probably Port Orchard, or any other point of sheltered land surrounded by sea water.

Hood Canal, Olympia would be other possibilities for warmer temps.
There should be a WA mean temp map you can find if you have a internet connection faster than 56k.

[509]

Depends how you define "winter".

March is pretty nice in much of eastern Washington.

The weather between Thanksgiving and mid-Feb is just as awful as western Washington. It is all about the sun angle in eastern Washington.

[MechAndy]

Water has a lot to do with it but I’m not sure if rivers count much in the big picture.

Just driving up on 101 north from Olympia towards PA the temp meter in my car bounces all over the place by up to 12 or so degrees.
I noticed it a lot during that heat wave we had.
I also noticed it a bit during the snow season as well.

It changes by how far away from the water I am or if there is a hill acting as a barrier.
It does this pretty fast and it does it often.
You can’t always judge by the name of a certain town.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by 509

Depends how you define "winter".

March is pretty nice in much of eastern Washington.

The weather between Thanksgiving and mid-Feb is just as awful as western Washington. It is all about the sun angle in eastern Washington.

Yes, I'm thinking specifically about the actual calendar months of winter. And temps are the main question as opposed to more or less sun. When I lived in CO we had 5 degrees and 'sunny' outside which locals loved to boast about. Add in some wind to that which they get often and its just plain cold. While most everyone was indoors hunkered down for the winter, I was outside freezing my tail off snow hiking in the mountains to frozen lakes and streams. Now, I prefer temps to be above freezing during day temps the majority of winter. And this winter has been that in WWA with the exception of the artic blast everyone experienced in December.

Derek

[grega94]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Probably Port Orchard, or any other point of sheltered land surrounded by sea water.

Hood Canal, Olympia would be other possibilities for warmer temps.
There should be a WA mean temp map you can find if you have a internet connection faster than 56k.

Olympia is probably the coldest place in the Puget sound because the sound is pretty narrow there and so not much of a moderating effect, they always get way more snow than places further north like Seattle and Tacoma. That being said for the Puget sound area I think the warmest place in winter is probably the San Juan islands but I might be wrong. Will need to check the averages again to confirm that.

[grega94]

So per averages here are some notable examples, and will include Brookings as a comparison.

Record High
City: Dec | Jan | Feb | Avg
Brookings: 79 | 80 | 83 | 80.7
La Push: 76 | 69 | 73 | 72.7
Walla Walla: 68 | 70 | 75 | 71.0
Richland: 66 | 71 | 73 | 70.0
Ocean Shores : 64 | 68 | 76 | 69.3
Mukilteo: 66 | 67 | 74 | 69.0
Vancouver: 65 | 66 | 73 | 68.0

Average High
City: Dec | Jan | Feb | Avg
Brookings: 53 | 53.7 | 54.7 | 53.8
Ocean Shores: 48 | 49 | 51 | 49.3
Long Beach: 48.2 | 48.8 | 50.4 | 49.1
Tacoma: 46.9 | 48.4 | 50.9 | 48.7
SeaTac: 47 | 48 | 50.3 | 48.4
Mukilteo: 46 | 48 | 51 | 48.3
Vancouver: 45.6 | 47.1 | 51 | 47.9

Average Low
City: Dec | Jan | Feb | Avg
Brookings: 42.7 | 43.6 | 43.2 | 43.2
Neah Bay: 40.9 | 38.7 | 39.6 | 39.7
SeaTac: 37.1 | 37.7 | 37.7 | 37.5
Ocean Shores: 36 | 38 | 37 | 37.0
Kingston: 36 | 37 | 37 | 36.7
Tacoma: 35.8 | 37.1 | 36.9 | 36.6
Vancouver: 33.1 | 33.7 | 33.7 | 33.5

Record Low
City: Dec | Jan | Feb | Avg
Brookings: 17 | 21 | 24 | 20.7
Neah Bay: 14 | 14 | 20 | 16.0
Kingston: 10 | 18 | 19 | 15.7
Tacoma: 6 | 17 | 11 | 11.3
Ocean Shores: 7 | 11 | 9 | 9.0
La Push: 7 | 7 | 11 | 8.3
Vancouver: -10 | -8 | -3 | -7.0

So it seems like the place that preforms the best with all the above metrics is Ocean Shores, although during winter warm spells looks like Walla Walla/Tri-Cities can be quite toasty as well.