Anchorage Merrill Fld, AK Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Anchorage Merrill Fld's primary NOAA station, ANCHORAGE MERRILL FLD.
The climate verdict for Anchorage Merrill Fld
Dryness leads the climate profile for Anchorage Merrill Fld, Alaska, with 14.2 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 38°F. At 40/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 6% of scores.
- 38°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 40/100
- comfort score, above 6% of station-mapped location scores
- 14.2"
- precipitation, annual total
- 151 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Anchorage Merrill Fld: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00026409 · Anchorage Merrill Fld, AK 38°F mean · 14.2" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-WIDE · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 38°F
- RANK-COOL #206
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Wise Rvr
- PRCP-DRY 14.2"
- SWING-WIDE 46°F
- COMF-LOW 40/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,902 HDD
- STN-1 USW00026409
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Wise Rvr, MT ( -0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every AK station list.
- Anchorage Merri… (this station) 38°F
- Cold Wise Rvr, MT 38°F
- Hot Spicer, CO 38°F
- Near Blowhard Mtn Ra…, UT 38°F
- Near Gunnison, CO 38°F
Anchorage Merrill Fld sits in Alaska, the #1 coldest U.S. state at 33.5°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Anchorage Merrill Fld
Anchorage Merrill Fld: 27/100 · grade F
Anchorage Merrill Fld publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Anchorage Merrill Fld, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 40/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Summer moisture balance | 48.6°F mean dew point | 85/100 · A |
| Frost-free season | 151 days/year | 26/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 14.2 in · 20.8 from 35 in | 25/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 188 calendar days | 21/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 37.8°F · 29.7° from 67.5°F | 0/100 · F |
Anchorage Merrill Fld · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Anchorage Merrill Fld is a continental Köppen climate: Dsc
Coldest-month mean 15.4°F and warmest-month mean 61.1°F place this station in continental, dry-summer, cool summer climates (Dsc). Class Dsc is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-summer, cool summer.
- Köppen code
- Dsc
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 61.1°F
- Coldest month
- 15.4°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Anchorage Merrill Fld sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Anchorage Merrill Fld's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 97%
- Among 6,861 stations, Anchorage Merrill Fld sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 85%
- Anchorage Merrill Fld's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 63rd percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Anchorage Merrill Fld compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Anchorage Merrill Fld's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
40 6th percentile score exceeds 6% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). This entry sits in this band.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Anchorage Merrill Fld's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 77 complete annual observations from 1917 to 2025, ANCHORAGE MERRILL FLD warmed at a fitted rate of 0.32°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Anchorage Merrill Fld primary station fitted change +0.32 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°F (-5°C) | 8°F (-13°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 0.5" | 30.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 28°F (-2°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 0.7" | 27.4 | 0.0 |
| March | 34°F (1°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 0.5" | 29.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 47°F (8°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 0.3" | 18.3 | 0.0 |
| May | 58°F (15°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 0.6" | 1.1 | 0.0 |
| June | 66°F (19°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 58°F (14°C) | 1.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| July | 68°F (20°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 61°F (16°C) | 1.7" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| August | 66°F (19°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 59°F (15°C) | 2.5" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| September | 57°F (14°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 3.0" | 2.7 | 0.0 |
| October | 43°F (6°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 1.6" | 16.3 | 0.0 |
| November | 29°F (-2°C) | 16°F (-9°C) | 23°F (-5°C) | 0.9" | 27.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 25°F (-4°C) | 11°F (-11°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 0.9" | 30.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 69°F around July 13, short of 90°F on every date, while 188 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 8°F near January 9.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 18, then returns to freezing around October 14, covering 188 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is August 24, when 51% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is April 17 at 16%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 110 wet dates a year.
The widest day
March 13 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 18°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Anchorage Merrill Fld.
Where Anchorage Merrill Fld Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 18°F.
Freezing is routine here by normals standards — the normal low reaches 32°F or colder on about 188 nights a year, more than most ranked stations.
Anchorage Merrill Fld earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
6.0 days with precipitation
6.4 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
4.5 days with precipitation
6.5 days with precipitation
9.9 days with precipitation
12.4 days with precipitation
15.6 days with precipitation
15.0 days with precipitation
11.4 days with precipitation
7.4 days with precipitation
8.1 days with precipitation
Anchorage Merrill Fld runs a summer-peaked wet season
37% of Anchorage Merrill Fld's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is September at 3.0", on a wide 45.7°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: September, August, July, taking 51% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: April at 0.3".
- Winter share: 15% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
Anchorage Merrill Fld is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 109 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 30% of the calendar, and they carry 14.2" between them. At roughly 0.13 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is August at about 16 wet days; the driest is April at about 5.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 29
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 1
50% probability date
Growing Season
151 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,902
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
20
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 79% | 3.1 | 23% | 43% |
| February | 72% | 3.4 | 32% | 36% |
| March | 64% | 3.8 | 28% | 36% |
| April | 57% | 4.6 | 21% | 31% |
| May | 58% | 4.9 | 17% | 28% |
| June | 66% | 4.6 | 18% | 31% |
| July | 72% | 4.0 | 12% | 37% |
| August | 74% | 3.6 | 16% | 37% |
| September | 73% | 3.6 | 18% | 42% |
| October | 77% | 3.3 | 27% | 39% |
| November | 79% | 3.2 | 29% | 42% |
| December | 80% | 2.7 | 22% | 39% |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AK closest to Anchorage Merrill Fld on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (38°F here).
- Farson, WY 38°F · 0.0°F off
- Fort Kent, ME 38°F · 0.0°F off
- Littlefork, MN 38°F · 0.0°F off
- Big Sky, MT 38°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (14.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Levan, UT 14.1" · 0.0" off
- Wheatland, WY 14.1" · 0.0" off
- Wolf Point, MT 14.2" · 0.0" off
- Brighton, CO 14.1" · 0.1" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Anchorage Merrill Fld's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Anchorage Merrill Fld's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 9,902 annual heating degree days against 20 for cooling. Its 45.7°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Anchorage Merrill Fld's frost-free season lasts about 151 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Anchorage Merrill Fld's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 45.7°F. The annual average is 38°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Anchorage Merrill Fld's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 14.2 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Anchorage Merrill Fld wettest normal
September
September concentrates the scarce annual total (14.2 inches).
Anchorage Merrill Fld driest normal
April
April is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Anchorage Merrill Fld's climate
How dry is Anchorage Merrill Fld? ▼
How cold does Anchorage Merrill Fld get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Anchorage Merrill Fld? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Anchorage Merrill Fld's primary station: ANCHORAGE MERRILL FLD (USW00026409). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Anchorage Merrill Fld; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Anchorage Merrill Fld comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.