Climate for Anchorage, Eagle River and the Valley  

Alaska is a land of extremes, but Southcentral Alaska is a welcome exception. Most first-time travelers arriving in Anchorage in the summer are impressed with how green everything is. Although we have snow and glaciers in the mountains year-round, Southcentral Alaska's weather is surprisingly hospitable, especially from May through September. You can compare the climate from April to September to San Francisco's spring weather.  And the winters might compare to a mountain ski resort in Colorado or Canada. The humidity is usually comfortably low, both summer and winter. 

Daylight ... A big difference, and one you'll notice right away, unless you arrive in mid-fall or mid-spring, is the length of the days. The charts on this page show that we have close to twenty-four hours of daylight in June and just about seven hours in December. It seems a little odd at first when you go to bed at 10:30 PM with the sun streaming through the window. But you'll be surprised at how easy it is to adapt to the extended daylight of summer. December nights, at almost eighteen hours, are definitely "long winter nights."

Temperature ...You can see by the chart on the left showing Anchorage's temperature averages that the ocean waters of Cook Inlet have a moderating affect on the highs and lows. There is less difference between the highest average temperature and the lowest average temperature than there is in the Valley. (See the chart below.)

Closer proximity to Cook Inlet also tends to make Anchorage summers a little cooler and the winter temperature a little warmer than the Valley.  This difference becomes more pronounced the further inland, and away from the ocean you get. Fairbanks, 260 miles to the north, has much warmer summers than we do here in Southcentral. Fairbanks also has considerably colder winters than we do.

Winds ... Terrain plays a major role in determining winds here. Wind currents tend to be either directed through low-lying passes or blocked by the peaks of mountain ranges.

This results in some areas being in "wind shadows" that are protected by the mountains. Others are notorious for being windy because they lie in the "wind funnels" in or near passes. Parts of the Anchorage Hillside and areas close to Turnagain Arm are known locally for high winds. In the Valley the eastern side, closest to the Matanuska and Knik Rivers, has more wind than the area further west. The exceptions to this general rule are the "wind shadows" you find around Eagle River and a small area in the Valley right between the Knik and Matanuska river valleys.

Precipitation, about 15-16 inches a year, usually falls in the form of rain from mid-April through September. The first snowfall usually comes in October or November. As you can see from the chart on the left, our rainy season is mid-July through September. Our driest, months are April, May and June. If you advise your friends and relatives on the best time to visit, your best bet is the month of June with lots of daylight and temps in the high sixties.  

In my 23 years in Southcentral Alaska, it has rained at least once in January every year except one. I've never seen snow after April except in the mountains. And, for the last ten years or so, we get a hailstorm or two in the summer. If you plan on spending any time outdoors in Alaska be sure and get some high-quality rain gear and a warm parka, sooner or later you'll need them!

So, for the most part, the climates for the Anchorage Bowl, Eagle River and the Mat-Valley are similar. Generally speaking the Valley may be four or five degrees warmer in the summer and Anchorage may get a little more snow in the winter but the differences are small. There is probably a bigger difference between daily high temps on the hillside and downtown Anchorage than there is between Anchorage and the Valley. For more information on Alaska weather see our useful links page.