What to Wear in Seattle in November 2026
Seattle in November: 11°C / 52°F days, 5°C / 41°F nights, and the wettest month of the year — 18 rain days, 13 of them properly wet.
- A full hooded raincoat, not a packable shell — this is the month it earns its bulk
- A mid-weight wool crew that holds warmth while damp
- A cotton-wool base under it — you will not fully dry out between showers
- Corduroy or wool trousers over denim, which stays wet once soaked
- Waterproof lace-up boots on a lug sole, sealed seams
- A wool scarf — it closes the gap the hood leaves at the neck
- Rely on October's packable shell — 12.9 days clear a tenth of an inch now, against 8.4
- Wear suede or unsealed leather, which 18 wet days will destroy
- Plan outdoor afternoons past four — sunset is around 4:25pm by month end
- Bring an umbrella and expect it to solve this — the wind off the Sound still wins
October is Seattle's drizzle. November is the month the drizzle stops apologising. The two months sit only five degrees apart, but the precipitation record separates them completely: NOAA's 1991–2020 normals at Sea-Tac put October at 14.3 wet days with 8.4 above a tenth of an inch, and November at 18.4 wet days with 12.9 above it. That is the wettest month of the Seattle year, and it means the packable shell that carried October is now the wrong tool roughly three days in five. Temperatures hold at 11.2°C in the afternoon and 4.9°C overnight, so this is still not a cold city by any northern standard. What changes is duration. Daylight falls to about 9h 10m, sunset reaches 4:25pm by the end of the month, and rain that used to arrive in twenty-minute bursts now settles in for the afternoon. The correct response is a longer coat with a hood you actually raise, wool rather than cotton against the skin, and a boot with sealed seams instead of a fashion Chelsea. Nordstrom started here in 1901 as a shoe shop, which is a useful reminder of what this city has always had to solve first. Footwear, then everything else.
October is Seattle's drizzle. November is the month the drizzle stops apologising.
The capsule
01Bottle green waxed hooded mackintoshLonger and heavier than October's packable shell, and that upgrade is the entire argument of this month. Waxed cotton sheds a sustained afternoon of rain where a lightweight nylon shell wets out, and the hood is structured enough to stay up in wind off Elliott Bay. Bottle green sits in the Pacific Northwest palette without reading as technical outdoor gear on a city street.
02Warm stone mid-weight wool crewMid-weight rather than chunky, because you are wearing this under a coat for most of the day and want to keep the sleeve slim enough to move. Wool holds warmth when damp, which matters when 12.9 days a month deliver real rain and you will not fully dry out between the office and the bus. Warm stone reads better than grey under 9h 10m of flat light.
03Cream cotton-wool long-sleeve baseThe layer nobody packs and everybody needs here. A cotton-wool blend moves moisture off the skin the way pure cotton will not, and in a month where you are damp more often than dry that is the difference between mild and miserable. Fitted, so the wool crew sits over it without bunching, and cream so it reads clean at an open collar.
04Charcoal pleated straight-leg wool trousersWool sheds a light rain and dries overnight, which denim does not — a wet jean stays wet through the following morning. Pleated and straight so they clear the boot rather than sitting on it, which keeps the hem out of standing water on Pike and Pine. This is the half of the capsule that works for a restaurant without a change of clothes.
05Mid-brown fine-wale corduroy trousersThe second bottom, and deliberately not another jean. Corduroy has enough weight to hang properly in wind and enough texture to look considered in a month where everyone defaults to black technical fabric. Mid-brown ties to the boot and lifts a capsule that is otherwise green, stone and charcoal under permanently grey light.
06Waterproof lace-up boot on a lug soleSealed seams and a real lug, not a fashion Chelsea with a decorative tread. Eighteen wet days means standing water at every kerb cut, the hills stay slick, and a smooth sole on a wet Seattle sidewalk is genuinely unsafe going downhill. Laces let you tighten over a thicker sock, which an elastic gusset cannot.
07Charcoal marled wool scarfA hood keeps rain off your head and does nothing about the gap at your throat, which is where wind off the water actually reaches you. Wool rather than cashmere because it will be damp most days and needs to survive that without special handling. This is also the piece that makes a 5°C / 41°F wait at a bus stop tolerable rather than something you cut short.
08Black waxed-canvas crossbody with brass hardwareWaxed canvas rather than leather, because leather in a Seattle November is a maintenance project. Small and worn across the body so it sits under the coat and out of the rain entirely, which is a trick worth knowing here. Brass hardware rather than untreated steel, since salt air off the Sound will find anything that rusts.
Day to night
Cream base under the stone wool crew · charcoal wool trousers · waterproof lace-ups · scarf · mackintosh buttoned, hood up · crossbody underneath the coat. Market errands, then the Olympic Sculpture Park while it is still light.
Same crew over the base · brown corduroy trousers · boots · scarf doubled. Dinner in Fremont at seven; it has been dark since half four and it is 5°C / 41°F and wet, and the coat has not come off all day.
A suggested look — buttoned bottle-green hooded mackintosh, warm stone wool crew, cream base, charcoal wool trousers, black waterproof lace-up boots.
What to avoid
- October's packable shell — 12.9 days now clear a tenth of an inch, against 8.4
- Suede or unsealed leather, bag included — 18 wet days will destroy it
- Denim as the only trouser — a soaked jean is still damp the next morning
- Outdoor plans after four — sunset hits 4:25pm by month end
- An umbrella — the wind off the Sound wins, and a hood frees both hands
Frequently asked questions
Mild, dark and genuinely wet. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals at Sea-Tac record an average high of 11.2°C / 52°F and an average low of 4.9°C / 41°F, with measurable precipitation on 18.4 days — of which 12.9 clear a tenth of an inch. Daylight falls to roughly 9h 10m. It is the wettest month of the Seattle year, and the step up from October is in intensity rather than frequency.
Substantially. October records 14.3 days with measurable rain and 8.4 above a tenth of an inch; November records 18.4 and 12.9. So the number of genuinely wet days rises by more than half. That is why October's advice — a packable shell and no umbrella — needs upgrading in November to a full hooded raincoat, while the no-umbrella part still holds.
Not cold, which surprises people. The average low is 4.9°C / 41°F and afternoons reach 11.2°C / 52°F, so it very rarely freezes. Seattle's November problem is wet and dark rather than cold: wool against the skin, a coat that sheds sustained rain, and sealed footwear matter far more than insulation does.
A waterproof lace-up boot with a genuine lug sole and sealed seams. Eighteen wet days means standing water at kerbs and slick pavement on the hills, and a smooth sole going downhill on a wet Seattle street is a real hazard. Laces beat an elastic gusset because you can tighten over a thicker sock. Skip suede entirely and skip fashion Chelseas with decorative treads.
Only if you want the indoor city. Museums, the Market, coffee, bookshops and restaurants are all at their best and least crowded, and rates fall between the October colour and the December holidays. But 18.4 wet days and a 4:25pm sunset mean outdoor plans need to happen before mid-afternoon. Come for the interiors and treat any dry hour as a bonus.
