Best days to stain a deck, by city
Deck and fence stain: 50–90°F, dry wood, 24 rain-free hours after. Pick a city for a live 7-day verdict from the National Weather Service forecast and the months that usually work there.
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Oregon
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
The rules Fairsky uses
- Needs 4 hours in a row of daylight.
- Air at least 50°F (45–49°F is borderline).
- No hotter than 90°F.
- Air at least 5°F above the dew point, so surfaces don't stay damp. (Fairsky default)
- Humidity at or below 85%. (Fairsky default)
- Wind at or under 15 mph. (Fairsky default)
- Rain chance at or below 20%. (Fairsky default)
- No rain in the 48 hours before, so surfaces are dry.
- No rain for 24 hours after you finish.
- The first night's low stays at 45°F or warmer.
Your product's label wins.
Sources: Sherwin-Williams: applying exterior stains · Sherwin-Williams: how to plan deck staining · Cabot stain technical data sheet · Thompson's WaterSeal transparent sealer
The app covers 47 activities in all: see every activity and its rules.
Fairsky is not a substitute for official warnings. For warnings, go to weather.gov.
Live forecasts: National Weather Service / NOAA (public domain), fetched by your browser. Climate averages: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 (public domain). Project thresholds: product data sheets, ACI and university extension guidance, linked on each page; your product’s label wins.