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Anchorage has a subarctic climate.
Short, cool summers and long, cold winters — here's what that means in plain terms.
What this climate feels like
The four things a regular visitor actually wants to know:
Highs near 19°C in July.
Lows near −12°C in January. About 186 freezing nights a year.
About 417 mm of rain a year, plus 198 cm of snow. Snow falls through the winter months.
Cloudy skies much of the year.
What "subarctic" means
Climate scientists sort every place on Earth into about 30 climate types, based on how hot, cold, wet and dry it is across the year. Anchorage's type — subarctic — sits in the broad family of four-season continental climates.
Researchers write climate types as a short letter code. Here is what each letter means:
Cities with the same climate as Anchorage
A subarctic climate (Dfc) — these recognizable cities share it. If you know one of them, you know roughly what to expect.
Anchorage sits near a climate boundary
This city sits right on the line between subarctic and the next type along. Different climate maps file it on different sides of that line; the lived weather doesn't change at the line — it's a naming boundary, not a wall.
Has Anchorage's climate type changed?
A climate type is a coarse bucket. It can hold steady for years while the weather inside it shifts — or tip into the next bucket.
What this climate means for you
70–120 day growing season — short-season vegetables, hardy berries, potatoes. Greenhouses are common.
Summer is the only practical outdoor window. Winter travel is possible but cold-adapted (ice roads, snowmobiles, aurora viewing).
Long, brutal winters and a brief but precious summer. Heating dominates the year; permafrost shapes construction.
Where these numbers come from
The climate type and the month-by-month figures on this page are computed from Anchorage's measured 30-year climate normals (1991–2020) — the same official records behind Anchorage's main climate page, so the two always agree.
Long-range climate maps measure things slightly differently and can place a city in a neighbouring category. Where they differ, this page uses the measured station record as the climate today.
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Anchorage Ted Stevens Intl AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00026451), about 9 km from the city centre.