Alaska Weather Overview

Alaska weather is as varied as its terrain, but perhaps has one constant: it changes frequently, often within the same day. Visitors may find that Alaska is not as cold as they imagine, unless they arrive during a winter freeze. Summer weather can be quite warm.

It all depends on when you visit and where you are in Alaska. With more than 1,400 miles between the southern and northernmost points, several seas and oceans surrounding the coast, glacier-carved inlets, winding river deltas and towering mountain ranges, weather variations are significant. A chart of current temperatures shows how different the weather can be at various locations at one time. The information pages for each destination have summaries of seasonal highs and lows and the current temperature. Visitors may also want to check the historical temperatures and precipitation for the destinations of their choice for the month they will be in Alaska.

The temperatures can be extreme. It's a pretty good bet that anyone outside at Prospect Creek, in northern Alaska, on January 23, 1971, was cold when the temperature hit a United States record low of -79.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Alaskans consider it blazing hot at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the record high for the state, recorded at Fort Yukon, in the Interior, on June 27, 1915.

But in July, mid-summer in Alaska, high daily temperatures throughout most of the state are comfortable, usually ranging from 60-80 degrees Fahrenheit. Nighttime lows can be 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit. Interior temperatures are generally among the warmest, and coastal areas are cooler.
Winter temperature differences may seem more dramatic. In early January, Southeast Alaska can be enjoying 20-30 degree Fahrenheit winter weather and more than seven hours of sunlight, while Barrow residents endure subzero temperatures and look forward to celebrating the sun's return after six weeks without a sunrise. Winds can make temperatures seem much colder, and it's especially important in winter to consider the wind chill factor when planning outdoor activities.

Spring "breakup," when the snow melts and the leaves on trees begin to open, begins in April in Southeast Alaska and arrives in northern Alaska by June. In mid-May, flowers may be blooming in Anchorage while some of the rivers and sounds of western and northern Alaska are still choked with ice. In fall, temperatures drop and winter snows begin to fly in northern areas in late September, in Anchorage and other Southcentral areas in mid-October, and begins in earnest in Ketchikan in Southeast Alaska in late October or November.
Valdez, on Prince William Sound in Southcentral Alaska, can get more than 300 inches of snow per year, illustrating that the southern coastal areas in Alaska get a lot of precipitation. Usually, this comes in the fall and winter; summer is considered the "dry season," which should be thought of as a relative term. The rain forest of Southeast Alaska is aptly named, but the summer months, when most travelers visit, are the best time to catch sunny weather. Interior regions are relatively dry and arctic areas are semi-arid.

Visitors prepared to dress for the weather and aware of how to prevent hypothermia will be able to enjoy all Alaska has to offer, in any kind of weather.