Salem climate

Name: Salem
Address: US

Salem is warmest in August, with average highs of 29 °C, and coldest in December, when nights average 2.1 °C. December is the wettest month (183 mm) and July the driest (8.4 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Salem averages 1,062 mm of rain, 83 days above 25 °C and 35 days below freezing.

United States · 49 m elevation · population 175,535 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month August 29 °C
Coldest month December 2.1 °C
Driest month July 8 mm
Wettest month December 183 mm
Least cloud August 30 % cloud
Hottest on record July 41 °C
Coldest on record December -11 °C

What to expectSalem through the year

Salem has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 8.3 °C in December to 29 °C in August, a swing of 16 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 83 days a year reach 25 °C, 33 of them reach 30 °C, 35 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C, in July.

Rain is strongly seasonal. December averages 183 mm against 8 mm in July — 22 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	9.0 °C	156 mm	76 %
February	10.8 °C	119 mm	71 %
March	13.1 °C	128 mm	73 %
April	15.5 °C	94 mm	69 %
May	19.6 °C	58 mm	62 %
June	23.1 °C	32 mm	54 %
July	28.7 °C	8 mm	31 %
August	29.1 °C	11 mm	30 %
September	25.6 °C	33 mm	39 %
October	18.1 °C	86 mm	57 %
November	11.7 °C	153 mm	73 %
December	8.3 °C	183 mm	77 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	9.0 °C	2.3 °C	5.0 °C	17.5 °C	-10.5 °C	0	0	9
February	10.8 °C	2.3 °C	5.8 °C	21.2 °C	-8.9 °C	0	0	8
March	13.1 °C	3.7 °C	7.6 °C	21.7 °C	-6.2 °C	0	0	4
April	15.5 °C	5.3 °C	9.6 °C	27.8 °C	-3.0 °C	0	0	1
May	19.6 °C	8.3 °C	13.2 °C	31.9 °C	0.3 °C	5	0	0
June	23.1 °C	10.9 °C	16.2 °C	38.7 °C	4.1 °C	9	3	0
July	28.7 °C	13.6 °C	20.3 °C	40.7 °C	7.7 °C	25	12	0
August	29.1 °C	14.0 °C	20.6 °C	40.7 °C	8.6 °C	26	12	0
September	25.6 °C	12.0 °C	17.8 °C	37.3 °C	3.1 °C	16	6	0
October	18.1 °C	8.2 °C	12.3 °C	30.0 °C	-3.1 °C	2	0	0
November	11.7 °C	4.6 °C	7.6 °C	20.5 °C	-5.8 °C	0	0	4
December	8.3 °C	2.1 °C	4.7 °C	16.3 °C	-11.0 °C	0	0	9

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind
January	156 mm	16	9.2 h/day	76 %	86 %	15 km/h
February	119 mm	13	10 h/day	71 %	84 %	15 km/h
March	128 mm	16	12 h/day	73 %	82 %	15 km/h
April	94 mm	15	13 h/day	69 %	79 %	15 km/h
May	58 mm	9	15 h/day	62 %	73 %	14 km/h
June	32 mm	6	16 h/day	54 %	67 %	14 km/h
July	8 mm	2	15 h/day	31 %	58 %	14 km/h
August	11 mm	2	14 h/day	30 %	58 %	14 km/h
September	33 mm	5	13 h/day	39 %	64 %	13 km/h
October	86 mm	10	11 h/day	57 %	76 %	14 km/h
November	153 mm	16	9.6 h/day	73 %	85 %	15 km/h
December	183 mm	17	8.8 h/day	77 %	87 %	16 km/h

How Salem compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Salem	29 °C	2.1 °C	1,062 mm	83
Portland · United States	29 °C	2.0 °C	1,227 mm	81
Vancouver · United States	28 °C	1.7 °C	1,497 mm	76
Eugene · United States	29 °C	1.4 °C	1,287 mm	80
Tacoma · United States	25 °C	1.8 °C	1,179 mm	45

Where Salem ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Places with the best weather in North America in September	5thof 50	93/100
Places with the best weather in North America in June	9thof 50	94/100
Places with the best weather in North America in July	29thof 50	86/100
The driest places in North America in July	39thof 50	8.4 mm
Places with the best weather in North America in August	40thof 50	85/100
The driest places in North America in August	41stof 50	11 mm

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Salem.

QuestionsCommon questions about Salem’s climate

When is the best time to visit Salem?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. July, August, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, August is the warmest month and July the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Salem get?

In August, the warmest month, daily highs average 29 °C. About 33 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 41 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 2.1 °C in December, the coldest month. A normal year has 35 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Salem?

December, averaging 183 mm over 17 days with rain. The driest month is July with 8 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,062 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Salem rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.