Alaska Weather by Month

What is the Weather Like in Alaska?

Sprawled out across some 665,000 square miles, Alaska is more than one-fifth the size of the lower 48 states. This means, predictably, that weather conditions can vary tremendously as you travel from one region to another, regardless of the season. Boning up on the climate before your trip is a must.

For obvious reasons, most travelers visit Alaska in the summer, which runs from May to September and generally sees temperatures in the 45- to 75-degree range. This is also the season of near-infinite daylight: 17.5 hours per day in the Interior Passage, up to 24 hours per day in the Arctic (where the sun never sets between May 12 and August 2). As a general pattern, southern coastal areas are more temperate than the interior: in the former, the thermometer tops out around 65 degrees in summer, while further inland temperatures have been known to reach well into the 80s. When doing your packing, a light jacket or layered clothing should suffice—unless you’re headed to the Arctic, where sturdier outerwear is in order.

Alaska’s shoulder seasons—spring and autumn, corresponding to April and September, respectively—are similar in that both feature warm days and cold nights. Conditions can be unpredictable, so bring clothing appropriate for sun, rain, or snow. Temperatures range from 15 degrees in the Arctic to 45 degrees in the coastal south.

Winter in Alaska extends from October through March, and is a period of abundant snowstorms and scant daylight (in the Arctic, the sun disappears altogether between November 19 and January 23). Again, coastal areas are more temperate, with temperatures generally in the 20s and 30s, while snow blankets much of Southcentral Alaska during these months, making them ideal for skiing, snowmobiling, and dog-mushing. In the Arctic, conditions are an order of magnitude more severe: temperatures not seldom dip down to -30 degrees in December and January, with frequent icy winds along the coast. In these months, Arctic excursions are for the hardiest adventurers only.

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