Ben's Farm, Alaska climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Ben's Farm's normal year runs from 6°F January nights to 70°F July afternoons. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 2.7°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 21°C.
- NOAA stationBen's Farm
- Station IDUSC00500707
- Location61.56°N 149.15°W
- Elevation127 ft (39 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Ben's Farm is 38°F and the normal low 25°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Ben's Farm.
- Jan 21° 6°
- Feb 28° 12°
- Mar 34° 17°
- Apr 49° 29°
- May 61° 38°
- Jun 68° 47°
- Jul 70° 50°
- Aug 67° 48°
- Sep 57° 41°
- Oct 42° 29°
- Nov 28° 14°
- Dec 23° 9°
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 Ben's Farm each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 70°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 6°F.
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F | 6°F | 13.6°F | – | <1 | 29 | 6 h 10 min |
| February | 28°F | 12°F | 19.7°F | – | <1 | 26 | 8 h 50 min |
| March | 34°F | 17°F | 25.5°F | – | <1 | 28 | 11 h 40 min |
| April | 49°F | 29°F | 39.1°F | – | <1 | 19 | 14 h 40 min |
| May | 61°F | 38°F | 49.6°F | – | <1 | 5 | 17 h 30 min |
| June | 68°F | 47°F | 57.2°F | – | <1 | <1 | 19 h 30 min |
| July | 70°F | 50°F | 60.0°F | – | <1 | <1 | 18 h 40 min |
| August | 67°F | 48°F | 57.1°F | – | <1 | <1 | 16 h |
| September | 57°F | 41°F | 48.7°F | – | <1 | 4 | 13 h |
| October | 42°F | 29°F | 35.4°F | – | <1 | 19 | 10 h 10 min |
| November | 28°F | 14°F | 21.0°F | – | <1 | 27 | 7 h 20 min |
| December | 23°F | 9°F | 16.4°F | – | <1 | 30 | 5 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 46°F | 28°F | 36.9°F | – | <1 | 187 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −14°C | −10.2°C |
| February | −2°C | −11°C | −6.8°C |
| March | 1°C | −9°C | −3.6°C |
| April | 9°C | −1°C | 3.9°C |
| May | 16°C | 3°C | 9.8°C |
| June | 20°C | 8°C | 14.0°C |
| July | 21°C | 10°C | 15.6°C |
| August | 19°C | 9°C | 13.9°C |
| September | 14°C | 5°C | 9.3°C |
| October | 6°C | −2°C | 1.9°C |
| November | −2°C | −10°C | −6.1°C |
| December | −5°C | −13°C | −8.7°C |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Matanuska Experiment Farm (3 miles away), gets 50 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00500707; 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 Ben's Farm?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July and August.
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 USC00500707.
When is the last frost at Ben's Farm?
In Ben's Farm, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 12 in half of years and after May 24 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 20 in half of years and before September 6 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 121 year in 10 after May 24; 9 in 10 after May 1
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 201 year in 10 before September 6; 9 in 10 before October 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 129 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 154 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 30 in half of springs and before October 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Ben's Farm in zone 5a in ZIP code 99645, 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 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −26°F (17 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 USC00500707; 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 Ben's Farm?
In a normal year in Ben's Farm, a 90°F day is rare and 187 nights fall to 32°F or colder.
- 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
- 187a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 96high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1969) is 90°F, on June 15, 1969; the lowest is −48°F, on January 4, 1975.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1981, with 20.05 in; the snowiest season is 1978–79, with 67.0 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00500707; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00500707. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Ben's Farm?
Over a year 64% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Ben's Farm, 2.5 kWh per square metre a day. April is the sunniest month (70%) and October the cloudiest (55%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 57% | 0.3 |
| February | 59% | 0.9 |
| March | 68% | 2.4 |
| April | 70% | 4.0 |
| May | 66% | 5.0 |
| June | 65% | 5.3 |
| July | 63% | 4.8 |
| August | 63% | 3.8 |
| September | 61% | 2.4 |
| October | 55% | 1.1 |
| November | 55% | 0.4 |
| December | 56% | 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 Ben's Farm record?
A normal year at Ben's Farm brings 10,216 heating degree days, 90% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 8 cooling degree days, 99% 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 851 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,595 | 0 |
| February | 1,267 | 0 |
| March | 1,226 | 0 |
| April | 777 | 0 |
| May | 477 | 0 |
| June | 237 | 3 |
| July | 159 | 4 |
| August | 246 | 1 |
| September | 488 | 0 |
| October | 918 | 0 |
| November | 1,318 | 0 |
| December | 1,508 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 10,216 | 8 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00500707. 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 Ben's Farm been warmer than normal?
2022 averaged 38.2°F, 1.3°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 36.9°F. 1 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34.4°F | −2.5°F |
| 2022 | 38.2°F | +1.3°F |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00500707. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Ben's Farm's climate compare?
Ben's Farm is warmer than 52 of the 85 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 36.9°F is warmer than 2%.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers.
Which places near Ben's Farm share this climate record?
Knik River 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.
- Knik River, AK858 people · 9 mi SE
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 Ben's Farm's climate
What is the coldest month at Ben's Farm?
January, with a normal high of 21°F and a normal low of 6°F. The warmest is July (70°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow at Ben's Farm?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for the station; the nearest record that keeps one, Matanuska Experiment Farm (3 miles away), records 50 inches of snow in a normal year.
What plant hardiness zone is Ben's Farm in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Ben's Farm in zone 5a in ZIP code 99645, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −26°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come at Ben's Farm?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 12; in one year in ten it comes after May 24. Waiting until May 24 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Palmer, AK3 miles from this station, 37.1°F a year
- Matanuska Experiment Farm, AK3 miles from this station, 36.7°F a year
- Lazy Mountain, AK6 miles from this station, 35.4°F a year
- North Lakes, AK7 miles from this station, 37.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made