Cold Bay, AK Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Cold Bay's primary NOAA station, COLD BAY AP.
The climate verdict for Cold Bay
A compact 24.2°F seasonal swing gives Cold Bay, Alaska a steadier-than-extreme annual shape. NOAA reports an annual average of 39°F. At 44/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 10% of scores.
- 39°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 44/100
- comfort score, above 10% of station-mapped location scores
- 42.7"
- annual precipitation · 67" snow
- 132 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Cold Bay: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00025624 · Cold Bay, AK 39°F mean · 42.7" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-NARROW · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 39°F
- RANK-COOL #274
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Sula
- PRCP-MID 42.7"
- SWING-NARROW 24°F
- COMF-LOW 44/100
- LOAD-HEAT 9,363 HDD
- STN-1 USW00025624
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Sula, MT (+ 0 °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.
- Cold Bay (this station) 39°F
- Cold Red River, NM 39°F
- Hot Annex Creek, AK 39°F
- Near Sula, MT 39°F
- Near Scofield Dam, UT 39°F
Cold Bay 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 · Cold Bay
Cold Bay: 34/100 · grade F
Cold Bay publishes all six Living Index dimensions from NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals.
PlainClimate-derived for Cold Bay, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 44/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Summer moisture balance | 47.1°F mean dew point | 78/100 · B |
| Precipitation balance | 42.7 in · 7.7 from 35 in | 73/100 · B |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 171 calendar days | 31/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 132 days/year | 13/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 67.3 inches/year | 11/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 39.3°F · 28.2° from 67.5°F | 3/100 · F |
Cold Bay · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Cold Bay is a continental Köppen climate: Dfc
Coldest-month mean 28.4°F and warmest-month mean 52.6°F place this station in continental, no dry season, cool summer climates (Dfc). Class Dfc is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, cool summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfc
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 52.6°F
- Coldest month
- 28.4°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 Cold Bay sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Cold Bay's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 96%
- Among 6,861 stations, Cold Bay sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 64th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 95%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Cold Bay is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Cold Bay compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Cold Bay's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
44 10th percentile score exceeds 10% 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
Cold Bay's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 78 complete annual observations from 1943 to 2025, COLD BAY AP warmed at a fitted rate of 0.19°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Cold Bay primary station fitted change +0.19 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33°F (1°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 3.4" | 12.6" | 24.2 | 0.0 |
| February | 35°F (2°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 3.2" | 10.0" | 21.1 | 0.0 |
| March | 35°F (2°C) | 24°F (-4°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 3.0" | 12.8" | 24.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 40°F (5°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 2.7" | 6.4" | 19.3 | 0.0 |
| May | 47°F (8°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 2.6" | 1.2" | 8.3 | 0.0 |
| June | 52°F (11°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 2.7" | 0.0" | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| July | 56°F (13°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 2.5" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| August | 57°F (14°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 53°F (11°C) | 3.7" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| September | 53°F (12°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 4.5" | 0.0" | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| October | 47°F (8°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 4.9" | 2.0" | 7.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 40°F (4°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 5.0" | 8.2" | 18.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 36°F (2°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 4.4" | 14.1" | 23.2 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 58°F around August 10, short of 90°F on every date, while 171 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 23°F near January 7.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 24, then returns to freezing around November 6, covering 171 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 November 3, when 82% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is May 18 at 58%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 251 wet dates a year.
The widest day
March 16 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 11°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Cold Bay.
Where Cold Bay Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 11°F.
Cold Bay earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 12.6"
20.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.0"
20.1 days with precipitation
Snow: 12.8"
19.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 6.4"
18.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.2"
17.8 days with precipitation
17.4 days with precipitation
19.8 days with precipitation
21.3 days with precipitation
22.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.0"
24.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 8.2"
24.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 14.1"
23.4 days with precipitation
Cold Bay spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 21% of the annual total and December through February 26%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Cold Bay has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry an unusually narrow 24.2°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: November averages 5.0" and July 2.5". The three wettest months together take 34% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
Rain reaches Cold Bay in small, frequent amounts
Cold Bay records about 250 days with measurable precipitation a year and 42.7" in total, which works out to roughly 0.17 inches on an average wet day. Precipitation on 69% of all days, arriving that lightly, is the damp many-grey-days pattern rather than the storm-driven one.
Places in this band read as wetter than their annual totals suggest, because what people notice is the number of overcast days, not the depth in the gauge.
- Most wet days: October, about 25 of them.
- Fewest: June, about 17.
- Average depth per wet day: 0.17 inches.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Winter brings real snow to Cold Bay
Cold Bay averages 67.3 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 78 days that record measurable snow. That is depth accumulating on the ground, which is why it can exceed the annual precipitation figure: precipitation counts the liquid the snow melts down to, and fresh snow is mostly air.
- Annual snowfall: 67.3 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 78 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 16% of the year's precipitation.
NOAA 1991-2020 normals. The ten-to-one ratio is a convention, not a measurement: real ratios vary with temperature, so treat the share as an order of magnitude rather than an exact split.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 4
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 25
50% probability date
Growing Season
132 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
9,363
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
0
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
August
Coldest Month
January
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 84% | 17.1 | 8% | 57% |
| February | 84% | 16.6 | 11% | 57% |
| March | 81% | 16.7 | 9% | 59% |
| April | 82% | 15.2 | 6% | 69% |
| May | 83% | 15.1 | 4% | 72% |
| June | 87% | 14.9 | 3% | 76% |
| July | 89% | 14.4 | 2% | 81% |
| August | 88% | 14.8 | 2% | 77% |
| September | 83% | 16.3 | 3% | 61% |
| October | 83% | 16.5 | 5% | 58% |
| November | 84% | 17.4 | 8% | 59% |
| December | 84% | 16.1 | 11% | 57% |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AK closest to Cold Bay 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 (39°F here).
- Cooperstown, ND 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Devils Lake, ND 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Potomac, MT 39°F · 0.0°F off
- Rangeley, ME 39°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (42.7" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Pleasant Hill, MO 42.7" · 0.0" off
- Bellefontaine, OH 42.6" · 0.0" off
- Moberly, MO 42.7" · 0.0" off
- Delanson, NY 42.6" · 0.1" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Cold Bay
heating led · moderate · low swing
Heating is the larger measured load in Cold Bay, at 9,363 degree days versus 0 for cooling. Unlike a strongly continental record, however, its 24.2°F month-to-month range is compact; persistent cool-season demand matters more than a dramatic summer-to-winter reversal.
Only about 132 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Cold Bay coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 28°F (-2°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Cold Bay typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Cold Bay snow peak
December
Cold Bay averages 67.3 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Cold Bay's climate
How much snow does Cold Bay get? ▼
How cold does Cold Bay get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Cold Bay? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Cold Bay's primary station: COLD BAY AP (USW00025624). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as an incorporated place (GEOID 0216530). Match rule for Cold Bay: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Cold Bay 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.