Alaska Weather: Cold, Wild & Worth Preparing For
Is it going to freeze, rain, or maybe something worse? The summers are midnight sun mosquito festivals and the winters feel like they last decades. Here's what else is going on around Alaska that will impact the time you spend outside.
Mackenzie, Our Local Expert Guiding Your Move
Mackenzie moved to Alaska a decade ago and has lived all over the state, from tiny towns to major hubs, picking up hard earned local knowledge along the way. She moves often and has lived in everything from dry cabins to yurts and everything in between. One particularly chaotic year included six moves, which taught her more about Alaska logistics than any handbook ever could. She dives for Dungeness crab, forages local mushrooms, and carves wooden spoons from wood she harvests herself. At Snappy Scout, Mackenzie turns deep statewide experience into advice shaped by weather, distance, and the kind of challenges that feel second nature once you've made Alaska home.
Read moreWritten with local insight from Snappy Scout relocation experts
What's the Weather Really Like in Alaska?
The forecast, the fashion, and the fine print locals wish someone had told them sooner.
Summer Temps
Can be shockingly pleasant sweater weather (mostly 60s, sometimes 70s-80s inland)
Winter Lows Are
Frostbite mode (Interior hits minus 40, Coasts are windy and rainy mild). Dark!
Unique Weather Patterns
Endless summer daylight, endless winter darkness, September snow, cold rainy summers, glacial flood outbursts
Local Weather Fashion Tip
Wool baselayers are key, Xtratuffs for every occasion, local made jewelry adds sparkle
Bugs
Mosquitoes that form actual clouds and hunt in packs- run!
Green Thumb Enthusiasts Love
Giant cabbages and kale gardens thriving under 20 hour sunlight
You Want To Call Out of Work Because
The sun is out, the snow is good, negative tides for tide pooling, berry patches are ripe, salmon are in, a moose is blocking your car in the driveway, you stayed up too late watching the northern lights
My Favorite Thing About Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall in Alaska
I love the transition of trading in my packraft paddles, fishing gear, camping equipment, and mountain bike for backcountry skis, ice climbing tools, ice skates, and a local library card!
— Mackenzie Schultz
Alaska Local Expert
Ready to See If Alaska Fits You?
Compare cities, check the routes, or head back to the full Alaska guide for the bigger picture.