Seattle · Month comparison
December vs July
July ranks #1 overall vs December at #11. The best month — 18mm rain, 25°C, 10 hours of sun, and the Bite of Seattle in full swing.
December
#11 of 12 months
Worth considering
Christmas market at Seattle Center — the Space Needle in holiday lights is worth seeing once.
- ↑WinterFest at Seattle Center: Winterfest ice rink, holiday market, and the Space Needle lit for the season
- ↑Pike Place Market Christmas decorations and the fish market's holiday atmosphere genuinely festive
July
#1 of 12 months
Best match
The best month — 18mm rain, 25°C, 10 hours of sun, and the Bite of Seattle in full swing.
- ↑Only 18mm rain: the driest month in the Pacific Northwest by far — nearly guaranteed blue-sky days
- ↑Bite of Seattle food festival (mid-July): 60+ restaurants serving the city's full culinary range in Seattle Center
| Factor | December | July |
|---|---|---|
| Weather score | 3 | 10 |
| Value score | 6 | 4 |
| Crowd score | 7 | 4 |
| Events score | 7 | 8 |
| Atmosphere | 6 | 9 |
| Avg high temp | 8°C | 25°C |
| Monthly rain | 150mm | 18mm |
| Daily sunshine | 3.2hrs | 10hrs |
December trade-offs
- ↓150mm rain and only 2 sunshine hours — the darkest and wettest month of the year alongside November
- ↓Christmas and New Year weeks see accommodation prices spike significantly above surrounding weeks
- ↓Many of the outdoor activities that make Seattle special are entirely unavailable
July trade-offs
- ↓Hotel prices at annual peak — downtown Seattle is expensive in July with no apology
- ↓Pike Place Market becomes a genuine struggle on summer weekends; arrive before 9am or after 4pm
- ↓Occasional smoke from Cascade wildfires can affect air quality and Mt Rainier visibility in late July
Scores compare months within Seattle. Climate data: Open Meteo ERA5 30-year normals (1991–2020). Methodology →