Aurora, Alaska climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Aurora's normal year runs from −15°F January nights to 73°F July afternoons, with 13.0 inches of precipitation and 58 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of −1.9°C, January lows of −26°C, July highs of 23°C, 330 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationAurora
- Station IDUSC00500490
- Location64.86°N 147.72°W
- Elevation443 ft (135 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Aurora is 28°F and the normal low 12°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Aurora.
- Jan 0° -15°
- Feb 13° -9°
- Mar 27° 0°
- Apr 47° 21°
- May 63° 37°
- Jun 72° 49°
- Jul 73° 52°
- Aug 66° 46°
- Sep 55° 35°
- Oct 34° 18°
- Nov 12° -3°
- Dec 3° -11°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Aurora each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 73°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −15°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.62 in), the least in March (0.34 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0°F | −15°F | -7.4°F | 0.57 | 8.7 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 5 h |
| February | 13°F | −9°F | 2.2°F | 0.44 | 9.6 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 20 min |
| March | 27°F | 0°F | 13.0°F | 0.34 | 6.1 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 30 min |
| April | 47°F | 21°F | 34.1°F | 0.34 | 2.8 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 15 h |
| May | 63°F | 37°F | 50.1°F | 0.64 | 0.2 | 8 | <1 | 8 | 18 h 30 min |
| June | 72°F | 49°F | 60.4°F | 2.01 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 21 h 40 min |
| July | 73°F | 52°F | 62.3°F | 2.62 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 20 h 20 min |
| August | 66°F | 46°F | 56.2°F | 2.44 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | 1 | 16 h 40 min |
| September | 55°F | 35°F | 45.0°F | 1.59 | 1.3 | 13 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 10 min |
| October | 34°F | 18°F | 25.9°F | 0.77 | 5.4 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 50 min |
| November | 12°F | −3°F | 4.4°F | 0.72 | 13.2 | 9 | <1 | 30 | 6 h 20 min |
| December | 3°F | −11°F | -3.9°F | 0.53 | 10.5 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 3 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 39°F | 18°F | 28.5°F | 13.01 | 57.8 | 110 | <1 | 227 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −18°C | −26°C | −21.9°C | 14 mm | 22 cm |
| February | −10°C | −23°C | −16.6°C | 11 mm | 24 cm |
| March | −3°C | −18°C | −10.6°C | 9 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 8°C | −6°C | 1.2°C | 9 mm | 7 cm |
| May | 17°C | 3°C | 10.1°C | 16 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 22°C | 9°C | 15.8°C | 51 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 23°C | 11°C | 16.8°C | 67 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 19°C | 8°C | 13.4°C | 62 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 13°C | 2°C | 7.2°C | 40 mm | 3 cm |
| October | 1°C | −8°C | −3.4°C | 20 mm | 14 cm |
| November | −11°C | −19°C | −15.3°C | 18 mm | 34 cm |
| December | −16°C | −24°C | −19.9°C | 13 mm | 27 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00500490; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
Which months are mildest at Aurora?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July and August. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (14).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00500490.
When is the last frost at Aurora?
In Aurora, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 16 in half of years and after May 29 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 6 in half of years and before August 25 in one year in ten.
Frost-free in half of yearsFrost in 1 to 9 years out of 10Frost most years
- Last spring frost, half of years after
- May 161 year in 10 after May 29; 9 in 10 after May 5
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 61 year in 10 before August 25; 9 in 10 before September 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 112 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 133 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 7 in half of springs and before September 18 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Aurora in zone 2a in ZIP code 99703, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 2b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −42°F (18 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Alaska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00500490; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; the station zone: ACIS daily lows, 1991-2020. A 10% date means one year in ten has a frost after it in spring or before it in autumn.
How hot and how cold does it get at Aurora?
In a normal year in Aurora, a 90°F day is rare, 227 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 110 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 227a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 150high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 110a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 20a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 2002) is 93°F, on June 25, 2013; the lowest is −51°F, on January 29, 2012.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2021, with 18.44 in; the snowiest season is 2025–26, with 87.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00500490; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00500490. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Aurora?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Aurora, 2.6 kWh per square metre a day. March is the sunniest month (84%) and October the cloudiest (62%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 0.2 |
| February | 75% | 0.8 |
| March | 84% | 2.6 |
| April | 83% | 4.4 |
| May | 73% | 5.2 |
| June | 69% | 5.4 |
| July | 66% | 4.8 |
| August | 67% | 3.7 |
| September | 67% | 2.3 |
| October | 62% | 1.0 |
| November | 63% | 0.3 |
| December | 79% | 0.1 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How many heating and cooling degree days does Aurora record?
A normal year at Aurora brings 13,314 heating degree days, 2.5 times the median U.S. place (5,373), and 49 cooling degree days, 95% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 1,010 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 2,244 | 0 |
| February | 1,757 | 0 |
| March | 1,610 | 0 |
| April | 927 | 0 |
| May | 463 | 1 |
| June | 161 | 21 |
| July | 109 | 23 |
| August | 279 | 4 |
| September | 600 | 0 |
| October | 1,211 | 0 |
| November | 1,818 | 0 |
| December | 2,138 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 13,314 | 49 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00500490. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
Have recent years at Aurora been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 30.9°F, 2.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 28.5°F. 3 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27.1°F | −1.4°F | 18.44 | – |
| 2022 | 28.4°F | −0.1°F | 10.89 | 58.9 |
| 2023 | 29.4°F | +0.9°F | 12.18 | 86.6 |
| 2024 | 29.2°F | +0.7°F | 15.60 | 58.3 |
| 2025 | 30.9°F | +2.4°F | 14.80 | 56.2 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00500490. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Aurora's climate compare?
Aurora is warmer than 29 of the 85 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 16. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 28.5°F is warmer than 1%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Aurora is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm summer. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Aurora share this climate record?
Farmers Loop has no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of its own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Farmers Loop, AK4,887 people · 4 mi N
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Aurora's climate
What is the coldest month at Aurora?
January, with a normal high of 0°F and a normal low of −15°F. The warmest is July (73°F by day, 52°F at night).
Does it snow at Aurora?
Yes: 58 inches in a normal year, falling on 63 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in November (13.2 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Aurora?
July, with 2.62 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 0.34 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Aurora in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Aurora in zone 2a in ZIP code 99703, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −42°F (18 years, 1991-2020): zone 2b.
How late can frost come at Aurora?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 16; in one year in ten it comes after May 29. Waiting until May 29 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Fairbanks Midtown, AK2 miles from this station, 29.0°F a year
- College, AK4 miles from this station, 28.5°F a year
- University Experiment Station, AK4 miles from this station, 28.9°F a year
- Goldstream, AK5 miles from this station, 24.3°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made