Olympic Peninsula Climate and Weather

The Olympic Peninsula has elevations ranging from sea level at the beaches of the Pacific Ocean and the Straight of Juan de Fuca to nearly 8000 feet on the summit of Mount Olympus. Copious amounts of precipitation characterize nearly all of this region except for the northeastern corner where the famous "Olympic Rainshadow" produces relatively light rainfall amounts typical of many areas of Eastern Washington,such as Spokane. The western slopes of the Olympic Mountains are famous for the rainforest where annual precipitation often exceeds 150 inches a year. Areas above 3000 feet have deep snow on the ground all winter long.