SeaTac in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), SeaTac sees average daytime highs around 47°F and overnight lows near 38°F, with 18.7 in of precipitation over about 51 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 47°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
47°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
38°F
Precipitation
18.7 in
51 wet days
Avg wind
6 mph
Travel score
1.1
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in SeaTac in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 47°F.

A typical winter day in SeaTac reaches about 47°F and drops to 38°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest December.

20°30°40°50°60°DecJanFeb

SeaTac 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
Jan46° / 38°6.918.42.28.71.0
Feb49° / 39°4.714.51.89.91.6
Mar52° / 40°5.517.50.811.62.3
Apr57° / 44°4.514.90.113.33.5
May64° / 49°3.012014.95.3
Jun68° / 53°2.39.5015.76.3
Jul74° / 57°1.05015.47.9
Aug75° / 58°1.34.8014.18.0
Sep69° / 53°2.68.4012.46.8
Oct59° / 47°5.314.1010.64.2
Nov50° / 42°7.6180.69.11.9
Dec45° / 38°7.017.62.18.30.8

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

SeaTac gets around 18.7 in of rain and snow over 51 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%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 30 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 1.3 kWh/m².

0123DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for SeaTac

In seasonPeak

In winter, SeaTac overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

SeaTac'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

Is winter a good time to visit SeaTac?

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.

1.1
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 SeaTac.

What to pack for SeaTac in Winter

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

In winter, SeaTac sees daytime highs around 47°F and nights near 38°F. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 51 days see rain.

a warm layerrain geara heavy coat

UV index in SeaTac 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 SeaTac 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

Air quality in SeaTac 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 SeaTac is worst in September — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.4× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodGoodModerateGoodSep 1322 µg/m³Dec 177 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb9Good
Mar12Moderate
Apr12Good
May11Good
Jun10Good
Jul10Good
Aug18Moderate
Sep22Moderate
Oct12Good
Nov8Good
Dec7Good
Location & terrain

Where is SeaTac?

SeaTac sits at 47.4°N, 122.3°W, 262 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Tukwila, 2.5 mi away.

Topography around SeaTac

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around SeaTac has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 502 ft around an average of 308 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,289 ft; within 50 miles, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 14,413 ft.

The land around SeaTac is covered by artificial surfaces (49%) and trees (35%) within 2 miles, trees (44%), water (26%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 10 miles, and trees (76%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
502 ft
10 miles
1,289 ft
50 miles
14,413 ft
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Tukwila 2.5 mi · Burien 3.1 mi · Des Moines 3.7 mi · Bryn Mawr-Skyway 3.7 mi · Renton 4.3 mi · Kent 5.6 mi · East Hill-Meridian 6.2 mi · Fairwood 6.2 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 SeaTac (47.4485°, -122.2922°, elevation 262 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.