Gray Sky Index · Washington
Seattle, WA: gray days, sunny days and the best month to shoot
Seattle averages 226 gray days and 140 clear or partly cloudy days a year — #1 grayest of the 43 US metros we track. July is the clearest for exterior shoots; December the grayest.
- Gray days a year
- 226
- #1 grayest of 43 metros
- Sunny days a year
- 140
- 58 clear, 82 partly cloudy
- Clearest month
- July
- fewest gray days: shoot exteriors
- Grayest month
- December
- most gray days: plan interiors
Gray days by month in Seattle
Mean gray days each month at Seattle Sea-Tac Ap, 51 years of record. The clearest months are in ink.
- 24 in January
- 21 in February
- 22 in March
- 20 in April
- 18 in May
- 17 in June
- 11 in July
- 12 in August
- 13 in September
- 19 in October
- 23 in November
- 25 in December
Shoot this week in Seattle?
National Weather Service forecast: average sky cover from 9am to 5pm local time, for the next 7 days.
Partly cloudy: shoot exteriors midday
Today 57% sky cover, 5% chance of rain. Least gray day this week: Tue, Nov 3, 57%.
- 57%Tue11/3
- 63%Wed11/4
- 64%Thu11/5
- 86%Fri11/6
- 82%Sat11/7
- 82%Sun11/8
- 85%Mon11/9
Clear (35% or less)Partly cloudy (to 65%)Gray
Best time to sell a house in Seattle
Share of the year’s new listings by month, 2023–2025 (Realtor.com). The three busiest months are in ink.
- 6% in January
- 7% in February
- 9.1% in March
- 10.3% in April
- 11.7% in May
- 11% in June
- 9.7% in July
- 8.7% in August
- 9.7% in September
- 7.5% in October
- 5.8% in November
- 3.4% in December
May, June, April bring 33% of Seattle’s new listings; December the fewest. Shoot exteriors in the clearest weeks before the peak, and you list with the photos already done.
Seattle scores 77/100 on the Listing Difficulty Index — #3 hardest of 43: 51 days on market and 25% of listings with a price cut. See every market’s score.
Nearby metros
- Portland, OR222 gray days a year
- Sacramento, CA100 gray days a year
- Salt Lake City, UT139 gray days a year
- San Francisco, CA105 gray days a year
Seattle: questions
Does Seattle get a lot of sun?
Seattle averages 140 clear or partly cloudy days a year and 226 gray days, on NOAA’s long-term record.
What is the cloudiest month in Seattle?
December has the most gray days in Seattle. July has the fewest, which makes it the easiest month for exterior shoots.
When is the best time to list a house in Seattle?
Most new listings in Seattle come on the market in May, June, April. Listing just before the peak meets the most buyers with the least competition; plan exterior shoots for the clearest days in the weeks before.
More free tools
Listing Difficulty Index
A 0–100 score for 43 US metros on how hard a listing has to work to stand out, and each market’s busiest listing months.
Listing Photo Rules Tracker
Every state law and MLS rule on AI-edited and virtually staged listing photos: what to disclose, when it applies and the penalties.
Sources: NOAA NCEI Comparative Climatic Data: mean number of clear, partly cloudy and cloudy days; US National Weather Service gridpoint forecast.
