Climate and average weather in Oak Harbor

In Oak Harbor, the summers are mild, fairly dry, and mostly clear and the winters are cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: early July to mid September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Oak Harbor typically varies from 42°F to 62°F, and is rarely below 35°F or above 67°F. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Oak Harbor for warm-weather activities is from early July to mid September.

Hottest
Aug
62°
Coldest
Jan
42°
Wettest
Nov
7.2 in
Driest
Jul
1.2 in
Rain / yr
46.5 in
155 wet days
Daylight
8.1–15.9 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
95 ft
48.3°N
Clearest
Jul
40% cloud

Oak Harbor is city on Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington State, United States.

Density
925/km²
people per km²
Founded
1915

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Oak Harbor weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early July to mid September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Oak Harbor, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.2 months, from June 20 to September 23, with daily high temperatures above 58°F. The hottest month of the year in Oak Harbor is August, with an average high of 62°F and low of 57°F.

The cool season lasts 4.0 months, from November 19 to March 19, with daily high temperatures below 48°F. The coldest month of the year in Oak Harbor is January, with an average low of 42°F and high of 45°F.

Days typically run about 4°F warmer than nights year-round.

30°40°50°60°70°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4542
Feb4642
Mar4844
Apr5146
May5550
Jun5853
Jul6256
Aug6257
Sep5955
Oct5450
Nov4945
Dec4542

Average hourly temperature in Oak Harbor

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on August afternoons, near 62°F, and coldest before dawn in January, near 42°F.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Oak Harbor weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan45° / 42°6.218.61.48.60.9
Feb46° / 42°4.214.71.39.91.1
Mar48° / 44°4.817.90.311.61.5
Apr51° / 46°3.314013.42.3
May55° / 50°2.610.5014.93.5
Jun58° / 53°2.19.4015.84.4
Jul62° / 56°1.25.8015.56.0
Aug62° / 57°1.45.3014.16.3
Sep59° / 55°2.38.7012.45.0
Oct54° / 50°4.713.8010.63.1
Nov49° / 45°7.218.50.391.6
Dec45° / 42°6.418.11.48.20.9

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Oak Harbor gets about 46.5 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.4 months, from around Oct 13 to Apr 24, peaking in November at about 64% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 2.

November is the wettest month by volume, with 7.2 in over about 19 wet days; July is the driest, with 1.2 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetNov 21 · 64%Aug 2 · 14%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan5919
Feb5415
Mar5718
Apr4614
May3511
Jun319
Jul196
Aug175
Sep309
Oct4414
Nov6019
Dec6018

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Oak Harbor collects about 46.5 in of rain across 155 wet days — roughly 3.9 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. November is the wettest month with 7.2 in, while July is the driest at just 1.2 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 43% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec6.24.24.83.32.62.11.21.42.34.77.26.4
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan6.2191
Feb4.2151
Mar4.8180
Apr3.3140
May2.6110
Jun2.190
Jul1.260
Aug1.450
Sep2.390
Oct4.7140
Nov7.2190
Dec6.4181

Snow in Oak Harbor

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Oak Harbor averages about 5 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 22 to Mar 12 — about 3.6 months.

December is snowiest, with roughly 1.3 day of snow and an estimated 2 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 7 in of snow.

01234JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonDec 25
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan12
Feb12
Mar01
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov01
Dec12

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Oak Harbor, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 8 and lasts for 4.2 months, ending around October 12. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 67% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 13 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around April 26. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 77% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 29 · 74%Dec 18 · 20%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2476
Feb3268
Mar3268
Apr3763
May4357
Jun4852
Jul6733
Aug6733
Sep6040
Oct4159
Nov3070
Dec2377

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 16, brings about 15 h 54 min of light; the shortest, around December 16, only 8 h 06 min — a swing of roughly 7 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.68:044:36
Feb9.97:295:22
Mar11.66:336:07
Apr13.45:286:53
May14.94:377:36
Jun15.84:158:06
Jul15.54:318:01
Aug14.15:107:19
Sep12.45:546:15
Oct10.66:395:12
Nov9.07:274:24
Dec8.28:024:11

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Oak Harbor averages about 9 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 18 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.0 months, from around Jun 13 to Oct 11. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 16 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is December, down near 4 sunny days — about 77% fewer than the July peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJul 2818 daysDec 183 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan4Gloomy
Feb5Gloomy
Mar6Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May9Mixed
Jun9Mixed
Jul16Bright
Aug16Bright
Sep14Mixed
Oct9Mixed
Nov5Gloomy
Dec4Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Oak Harbor, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in September, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccomfortabledry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun991
Jul8911
Aug8020
Sep928
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Oak Harbor is typically light breeze, near 8 mph, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.5 months, from around Oct 20 to Apr 4. The windiest month is December, averaging about 11 mph (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 5 to Oct 19, with September the calmest month at about 6 mph.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyDec 16 · 11 mphSep 13 · 6 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan10light breeze
Feb9light breeze
Mar9light breeze
Apr8light breeze
May7calm
Jun6calm
Jul7calm
Aug6calm
Sep6calm
Oct8light breeze
Nov10light breeze
Dec11light breeze

Hazard calendar for Oak Harbor

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Oak Harbor's rainy season runs October–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Oak Harbor

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Oak Harbor throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late August, Oak Harbor is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 64°F and 82°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Oak Harbor for general outdoor tourist activities is from early July to early September, with a peak score in the first week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 1 · 6.6

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.9poor
Feb1.1poor
Mar1.5poor
Apr2.3poor
May3.5poor
Jun4.4fair
Jul6.0good
Aug6.3good
Sep4.9fair
Oct3.1poor
Nov1.6poor
Dec0.9poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 75°F and 93°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Oak Harbor for hot-weather activities is from late July to late August, with a peak score in the first week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 4 · 1.6

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Oak Harbor, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around August (highs near 62°F), the essentials are a warm layer and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 45°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Oak Harbor sees daytime highs around 62°F and nights near 57°F. Worth packing: a warm layer and sun protection. About 5 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Oak Harbor

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 12 mi away) is warmest in August at about 54°F and coldest in February near 46°F.

The water stays below 68°F all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

45°50°55°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracing
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan46Bracing
Feb46Bracing
Mar47Bracing
Apr48Bracing
May50Bracing
Jun52Bracing
Jul53Bracing
Aug54Bracing
Sep53Bracing
Oct50Bracing
Nov49Bracing
Dec47Bracing

UV index (midday) in Oak Harbor by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Oak Harbor peaks around July 17 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 18 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 17UV 8Dec 18UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7High
Jun6High
Jul8Very high
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Oak Harbor

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 4.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar2.50
Apr50
May72.5
Jun70
Jul8.54.5
Aug71.5
Sep40
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Oak Harbor is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan990
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 50°F)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 50°F: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Oak Harbor banks about 1,115 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

05001,0001,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr1
May80
Jun166
Jul277
Aug301
Sep218
Oct71
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Oak Harbor receives about 3.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.8 and 6.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.0 months, from around Mar 26 to Sep 25. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.2 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.9 kWh/m² — roughly 86% less than the July peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 226.3 kWhDec 180.8 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.1Dim
Feb1.9Dim
Mar3.1Moderate
Apr4.5Bright
May5.6Bright
Jun5.8Bright
Jul6.3Intense
Aug5.5Bright
Sep4.1Bright
Oct2.3Moderate
Nov1.2Dim
Dec0.9Dim

Where is Oak Harbor?

Oak Harbor sits at 48.3°N, 122.6°W, 95 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Anacortes, 15 mi away.

Topography around Oak Harbor

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Oak Harbor has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 354 ft around an average of 89 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 771 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 9,780 ft.

The land around Oak Harbor is covered by water (29%), trees (28%) and grassland (24%) within 2 miles, water (61%) and trees (23%) within 10 miles, and trees (53%) and water (34%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
354 ft
10 miles
771 ft
50 miles
9,780 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Nearby: Anacortes 15 mi · Mount Vernon 17 mi · Arlington 25 mi · Marysville 27 mi · Mukilteo 29 mi · Everett 30 mi · Oak Bay 32 mi · West Lake Stevens 32 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 Oak Harbor (48.2932°, -122.6432°, elevation 95 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).