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Kotzebue, Alaska climate

Dfc Subarctic

Kotzebue has a strongly seasonal subarctic climate (Subarctic, Köppen Dfc). The hottest month is July with an average daily high near 16°C, while the coldest is January averaging around −22°C at night. Precipitation totals about 289 mm a year and is strongly seasonal — August alone averages 54 mm while May barely receives 11 mm. Snowfall is heavy (163 cm of snow per year on average). At latitude 67°N, day length swings from 0.0 hours in midwinter to 24.0 hours at midsummer.

☀️ Summers

Cool

Highs near 16°C in July.

❄️ Winters

Bitterly cold

Lows near −22°C in January.

About 236 freezing nights a year

🌧️ Rain & snow

Fairly dry

About 289 mm of rain a year, plus 163 cm of snow.

Snow falls through the winter months

⛅ Sky & trend

Often cloudy

Cloudy skies much of the year.

+1.1 °C vs 50 years ago

Temperature & precipitation

Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation split into rain and snow · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figures

Hours of sunshine per day

Estimated sunny hours each month — daylight length × clear-sky fraction · 1991–2020 monthly cloud cover (NASA POWER)

Kotzebue climate normals (1991–2020)

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°C)	−15	−13	−13	−5	4	12	16	14	9	−1	−9	−13
Avg temp (°C)	−19	−17	−17	−9	1	9	13	11	6	−3	−12	−16
Avg low (°C)	−22	−21	−21	−13	−3	5	10	9	4	−5	−15	−20
Precipitation (mm)	16	22	13	14	11	15	41	54	36	27	21	19
Snowfall (cm)	24	33	16	12	3	—	—	—	2	15	28	30

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Avg high (°C)	−15	−13	−13	−5	4	12
Avg temp (°C)	−19	−17	−17	−9	1	9
Avg low (°C)	−22	−21	−21	−13	−3	5
Precipitation (mm)	16	22	13	14	11	15
Snowfall (cm)	24	33	16	12	3	—

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high (°C)	16	14	9	−1	−9	−13
Avg temp (°C)	13	11	6	−3	−12	−16
Avg low (°C)	10	9	4	−5	−15	−20
Precipitation (mm)	41	54	36	27	21	19
Snowfall (cm)	—	—	2	15	28	30

How often — frequency of weather events

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	9	10	7	7	7	6	11	14	12	11	10	10
Days with low ≤ 0°C (days)	31	28	31	29	21	3	0.0	0.1	6	25	30	31
Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days)	3	4	2	2	0.4	—	—	—	0.1	2	3	3

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Days with measurable rain (days)	9	10	7	7	7	6
Days with low ≤ 0°C (days)	31	28	31	29	21	3
Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days)	3	4	2	2	0.4	—

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Days with measurable rain (days)	11	14	12	11	10	10
Days with low ≤ 0°C (days)	0.0	0.1	6	25	30	31
Days with snowfall ≥ 2.5 cm (days)	—	—	0.1	2	3	3

Sky & atmosphere

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	68	72	65	66	66	72	73	75	72	77	72	70
Relative humidity (%)	96	95	94	92	88	85	85	85	86	91	96	96
Wind speed (mph)	11.0	11.4	9.7	8.2	6.0	5.1	5.6	7.1	8.2	9.6	10.8	11.0

Jan – Jun	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Cloud cover (%)	68	72	65	66	66	72
Relative humidity (%)	96	95	94	92	88	85
Wind speed (mph)	11.0	11.4	9.7	8.2	6.0	5.1

Jul – Dec	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Cloud cover (%)	73	75	72	77	72	70
Relative humidity (%)	85	85	86	91	96	96
Wind speed (mph)	5.6	7.1	8.2	9.6	10.8	11.0

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Kotzebue AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00026616), about 1 km from the city centre.

Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.

How we build these numbers →