Climate and average weather in Sunnyside

In Sunnyside, the summers are hot, dry, and clear and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: late April to late June

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Sunnyside typically varies from 28°F to 91°F, and is rarely below 16°F or above 103°F. July is the hottest month of the year, while December is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Sunnyside for warm-weather activities are from late April to late June and early September to mid October.

Hottest
Jul
91°
Coldest
Dec
28°
Wettest
Dec
1.7 in
Driest
Jul
0.2 in
Rain / yr
10.1 in
60 wet days
Daylight
8.4–15.6 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
745 ft
46.3°N
Clearest
Jul
24% cloud

Sunnyside is city in Yakima County, Washington, United States.

Density
950/km²
people per km²
Founded
1902

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

Sunnyside 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 late April to late June.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.4 months, from June 6 to September 16, with daily high temperatures above 79°F. The hottest month of the year in Sunnyside is July, with an average high of 91°F and low of 63°F.

The cool season lasts 3.4 months, from November 15 to February 25, with daily high temperatures below 49°F. The coldest month of the year in Sunnyside is December, with an average low of 28°F and high of 39°F.

Days typically run about 21°F warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 29°F) in July.

20°40°60°80°100°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°F)Avg low (°F)
Jan4028
Feb4731
Mar5536
Apr6543
May7551
Jun8257
Jul9163
Aug9061
Sep8053
Oct6443
Nov4834
Dec3928

How hot and cold Sunnyside really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Sunnyside feels like about 93°F (around July 27). About 43 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in July.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about 21°F (around January 2), with roughly 132 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 32°F), worst in January.

20°40°60°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°F)Air high (°F)Feels-like low (°F)Air low (°F)
Jan40402328
Feb47472631
Mar55553136
Apr65653943
May75754951
Jun82825757
Jul91916363
Aug90906161
Sep80805353
Oct64644043
Nov48482934
Dec39392228

Average hourly temperature in Sunnyside

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 July afternoons, near 91°F, and coldest before dawn in December, near 28°F.

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

Sunnyside 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
Jan40° / 28°1.59.23.58.80.1
Feb47° / 31°1.16.31.9101.5
Mar55° / 36°1.06.60.611.63.9
Apr65° / 43°0.74.60.113.36.5
May75° / 51°0.74.2014.77.7
Jun82° / 57°0.43015.57.2
Jul91° / 63°0.21.3015.24.6
Aug90° / 61°0.21.10145.1
Sep80° / 53°0.31.9012.38.0
Oct64° / 43°1.05.10.110.76.4
Nov48° / 34°1.37.819.22.0
Dec39° / 28°1.793.58.50.0

Chance of rain

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

Sunnyside gets about 10.1 in of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.8 months, from around Oct 19 to Apr 14, peaking in January at about 32% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Aug 3.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 1.7 in over about 9 wet days; July is the driest, with 0.2 in. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetJan 9 · 32%Aug 3 · 3%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan299
Feb236
Mar207
Apr155
May144
Jun93
Jul41
Aug41
Sep72
Oct165
Nov268
Dec299

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Sunnyside collects about 10.1 in of rain across 60 wet days — roughly 0.8 in in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 1.7 in, while July is the driest at just 0.2 in. The three wettest months alone bring about 45% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

00.511.52JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec1.51.11.00.70.70.40.20.20.31.01.31.7
Rainfall (in)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1.594
Feb1.162
Mar1.071
Apr0.750
May0.740
Jun0.430
Jul0.210
Aug0.210
Sep0.320
Oct1.050
Nov1.381
Dec1.794

Snow in Sunnyside

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.

Sunnyside averages about 11 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 12 to Mar 16 — about 4.1 months.

December is snowiest, with roughly 3 days of snow and an estimated 5 in of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 17 in of snow.

0246JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonDec 27
Snow daysSnowfall (in)
Jan46
Feb24
Mar11
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov12
Dec45

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Sunnyside, 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 May 31 and lasts for 4.7 months, ending around October 19. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 86% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 20 and lasts for 7.3 months, ending around May 30. The cloudiest month is January, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 66% 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 · 90%Dec 21 · 33%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3466
Feb4159
Mar4357
Apr4654
May5149
Jun6535
Jul8515
Aug8614
Sep7426
Oct5842
Nov4258
Dec3565

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 14, brings about 15 h 36 min of light; the shortest, around December 14, only 8 h 24 min — a swing of roughly 7 h 12 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.87:464:33
Feb10.07:145:15
Mar11.66:225:57
Apr13.35:216:40
May14.74:337:19
Jun15.54:137:47
Jul15.24:287:43
Aug14.05:047:04
Sep12.35:456:04
Oct10.76:255:05
Nov9.27:104:20
Dec8.57:444:09

Sunny days

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

Sunnyside averages about 12 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 24 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.5 months, from around Jun 9 to Oct 23. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 22 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is January, down near 6 sunny days — about 71% fewer than the July peak.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJul 3124 daysJan 126 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan6Gloomy
Feb8Mixed
Mar8Gloomy
Apr8Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun14Mixed
Jul22Bright
Aug23Bright
Sep18Bright
Oct14Mixed
Nov8Mixed
Dec7Gloomy

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 Sunnyside, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul991
Aug991
Sep991
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 Sunnyside is typically calm, near 5 mph, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 4.5 months, from around Feb 24 to Jul 10. The windiest month is April, averaging about 7 mph (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Jul 11 to Feb 23, with January the calmest month at about 5 mph.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmerwindiercalmercalmlight breezeApr 27 · 7 mphJan 20 · 4 mph
Wind speed (mph)Feels
Jan5calm
Feb5calm
Mar6calm
Apr7calm
May6calm
Jun6calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec5calm

Best time to visit Sunnyside

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid June, Sunnyside 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 times of year to visit Sunnyside for general outdoor tourist activities run from late April to late June and again from early September to mid October, with a peak score in the last week of September.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 24 · 8.4

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
Jan0.1poor
Feb1.5poor
Mar3.9fair
Apr6.4good
May7.7ideal
Jun7.1good
Jul4.7fair
Aug5.2fair
Sep7.9ideal
Oct6.3good
Nov2.0poor
Dec0.0poor

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 Sunnyside for hot-weather activities is from late May to late September, with a peak score in the first week of September.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationSep 2 · 8.8

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 Sunnyside, 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 July (highs near 91°F), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near 39°F), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Sunnyside sees daytime highs around 91°F and nights near 63°F. Pack light clothes and sun protection.

UV index (midday) in Sunnyside 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 Sunnyside peaks around July 16 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 14 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 16UV 8Dec 14UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr5High
May7Very high
Jun6High
Jul9Very high
Aug6High
Sep5Moderate
Oct4Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Sunnyside

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 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 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
Mar30
Apr60
May7.53.5
Jun7.53
Jul85
Aug72
Sep50
Oct2.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Sunnyside by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Sunnyside is worst in August — around 30 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 4.0× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodAug 2029 µg/m³Dec 178 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan9Good
Feb10Good
Mar12Good
Apr10Good
May9Good
Jun10Good
Jul13Moderate
Aug30Moderate
Sep23Moderate
Oct10Good
Nov10Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Sunnyside typically lasts about 268 days, from around February 27 to November 21 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from March 30 to October 22.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 2750%Mar 3090%Oct 2290%Nov 2150%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan2931
Feb4328
Mar7630
Apr960
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct939
Nov5930
Dec2831

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. Sunnyside banks about 3,330 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°F·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr110
May395
Jun583
Jul833
Aug793
Sep493
Oct122
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.

Sunnyside receives about 4.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.3 and 7.9 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.0 months, from around Mar 25 to Sep 23. The brightest month is July, averaging about 7.8 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.3 kWh/m² — roughly 83% less than the July peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 87.9 kWhDec 181.3 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.5Dim
Feb2.6Moderate
Mar4.1Bright
Apr5.7Bright
May6.8Intense
Jun7.5Intense
Jul7.8Intense
Aug6.8Intense
Sep5.0Bright
Oct3.2Moderate
Nov1.8Dim
Dec1.3Dim

Where is Sunnyside?

Sunnyside sits at 46.3°N, 120.0°W, 745 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Yakima, 30 mi away.

Topography around Sunnyside

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Sunnyside has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 289 ft around an average of 764 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,152 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 5,568 ft.

The land around Sunnyside is covered by cropland (34%), grassland (29%) and artificial surfaces (24%) within 2 miles, grassland (46%) and cropland (38%) within 10 miles, and grassland (62%) and cropland (24%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
289 ft
10 miles
2,152 ft
50 miles
5,568 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Yakima 30 mi · Richland 35 mi · Tri-Cities 39 mi · Kennewick 42 mi · Pasco 43 mi · Hermiston 48 mi · Ellensburg 53 mi · Moses Lake 66 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 Sunnyside (46.3237°, -120.0087°, elevation 745 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. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).