Moses Lake in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Moses Lake sees average daytime highs around 39°F and overnight lows near 28°F, with 3.9 in of precipitation over about 24 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Over the season highs climb from about 39°F in early December to 47°F by late February. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Moses Lake's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Moses Lake's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
39°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
28°F
Precipitation
3.9 in
24 wet days
Avg wind
6 mph
Travel score
0.3
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Moses Lake in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs climb from about 39°F in early December to 47°F by late February.

A typical winter day in Moses Lake reaches about 39°F and drops to 28°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest December.

20°40°60°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Moses Lake

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 90 that feel at or below 32°F.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
90
wind chill below the day's low

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Moses Lake weather by month

How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan37° / 26°1.48.54.18.70.0
Feb44° / 30°0.96.32100.9
Mar54° / 36°1.06.60.711.63.5
Apr64° / 44°0.75013.36.2
May74° / 52°0.74.6014.87.7
Jun81° / 58°0.53.6015.67.4
Jul90° / 64°0.21.4015.35.2
Aug88° / 63°0.21.20145.6
Sep78° / 55°0.31.9012.48.2
Oct62° / 44°0.95.5010.65.9
Nov46° / 34°1.38.41.69.11.4
Dec37° / 26°1.69.14.88.40.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Moses Lake gets around 3.9 in of rain and snow over 24 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 6 mph across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 h 36 min in early December to 10 h 42 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.7 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Moses Lake?

Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

0.3
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Moses Lake.

What to pack for Moses Lake in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Moses Lake sees daytime highs around 39°F and nights near 28°F. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 24 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Moses Lake in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Moses Lake peaks around July 17 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 17UV 8Dec 17UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7Very high
Jun6High
Jul9Very high
Aug6High
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Air quality in Moses Lake in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Moses Lake is worst in August — around 32 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.4× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodAug 1930 µg/m³Dec 197 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan9Good
Feb9Good
Mar11Good
Apr11Good
May9Good
Jun9Good
Jul13Moderate
Aug32Moderate
Sep22Moderate
Oct11Good
Nov10Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is Moses Lake?

Moses Lake sits at 47.1°N, 119.3°W, 1,070 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Wenatchee, 52 mi away.

Topography around Moses Lake

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Moses Lake.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Moses Lake has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 174 ft around an average of 1,109 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 476 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,531 ft.

The land around Moses Lake is covered by artificial surfaces (35%) and grassland (30%) within 2 miles, cropland (43%) and grassland (38%) within 10 miles, and grassland (52%) and cropland (43%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
174 ft
10 miles
476 ft
50 miles
5,531 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Wenatchee 52 mi · Richland 58 mi · Ellensburg 60 mi · Tri-Cities 62 mi · Pasco 62 mi · Kennewick 64 mi · Sunnyside 66 mi · Yakima 68 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Moses Lake (47.1301°, -119.2781°, elevation 1,070 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.