Anchorage weather by month & the best time to visit
🇺🇸 United States · seaside town · continental climate
The best time to visit Anchorage is July — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 61/100), with June and August close behind. Anchorage averages about 1,720 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 18°C / 64°F and roughly 83 mm of rain in July.
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- Sun hours / year
- 1,720
- Sunniest month
- July
- Peak score
- 61/100
- Rain / year
- 820 mm
- Snow / year
- ≈2 m
- Midday UV at peak
- 4 (moderate)
- Sea at warmest
- 17°C / 63°F
- Population
- 290k
- Elevation
- 30 m
When is the best time to visit Anchorage?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Anchorage is July, then June and August. The dullest month is January (0/100, 53 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Anchorage?
Anchorage isn't a sunny place by world standards: about 1,720 hours of sunshine a year. 61 Sunshine Score points separate July (61) from January (0), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #500 of 580 destinations in United States for annual sunshine, below the national median of 2,279 hours. The year's 820 mm of rain spreads fairly evenly across the months, with no pronounced dry season.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | -4° / 25°F | -9° / 16°F | 53 mm | 0 | -1° / 30°F |
| February | 0 | -2° / 28°F | -7° / 19°F | 51 mm | 0 | -1° / 30°F |
| March | 0 | -1° / 30°F | -7° / 19°F | 39 mm | 1 | -1° / 30°F |
| April | 0 | 5° / 41°F | -1° / 30°F | 38 mm | 2 | 2° / 36°F |
| May | 27 | 12° / 54°F | 5° / 41°F | 47 mm | 3 | 8° / 46°F |
| June | 52 | 16° / 61°F | 9° / 48°F | 59 mm | 4 | 14° / 57°F |
| July | 61 | 18° / 64°F | 12° / 54°F | 83 mm | 4 | 17° / 63°F |
| August | 51 | 17° / 63°F | 11° / 52°F | 110 mm | 3 | 15° / 59°F |
| September | 28 | 13° / 55°F | 7° / 45°F | 118 mm | 2 | 12° / 54°F |
| October | 0 | 6° / 43°F | 2° / 36°F | 87 mm | 0 | 7° / 45°F |
| November | 0 | -2° / 28°F | -6° / 21°F | 71 mm | 0 | 2° / 36°F |
| December | 0 | -3° / 27°F | -7° / 19°F | 64 mm | 0 | 0° / 32°F |
Sea temperature in Anchorage by month
The sea off Anchorage is warmest in July at around 17°C / 63°F, and coolest in January at -1°C / 30°F. It never reaches comfortable swimming temperatures (21°C+). Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Anchorage on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Kodiak United States · 407 km · best in Jul · 1,335 h sun/yr
- Fairbanks United States · 418 km · best in Jun · 2,066 h sun/yr
- Bethel United States · 640 km · best in Jul · 1,745 h sun/yr
- Whitehorse Canada · 806 km · best in Jul · 1,919 h sun/yr
- Nome United States · 864 km · best in Jul · 1,904 h sun/yr
- Kotzebue United States · 880 km · best in Jul · 2,092 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Kenai United States · 96 km · 1,667 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Chenega United States · 164 km · 1,278 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Tatitlek United States · 181 km · 1,285 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Homer United States · 189 km · 1,467 h sun/yr · best in Jul
- Valdez United States · 201 km · 2,069 h sun/yr · best in Jul
Head-to-head
How Anchorage compares month by month: Anchorage vs Fairbanks · Anchorage vs Bethel · Anchorage vs Kodiak · all comparisons
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