College, Alaska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
College's normal year runs from −11°F January nights to 71°F July afternoons, with 13.3 inches of precipitation and 64 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of −1.9°C, January lows of −24°C, July highs of 22°C, 339 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationCollege Obsy
- Station IDUSC00502107
- Location64.86°N 147.85°W
- Elevation597 ft (182 m)
- From the center1 miles
- Population (census place)11,730
On October 14, the normal high in College is 35°F and the normal low 20°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 32%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for College.
- Jan 2° -11°
- Feb 12° -5°
- Mar 24° 1°
- Apr 44° 22°
- May 60° 37°
- Jun 70° 48°
- Jul 71° 51°
- Aug 65° 46°
- Sep 54° 35°
- Oct 33° 18°
- Nov 12° -1°
- Dec 5° -8°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in College each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 71°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −11°F. The most precipitation falls in July (2.49 in), the least in April (0.37 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°F | −11°F | -4.7°F | 0.66 | 10.4 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 5 h |
| February | 12°F | −5°F | 3.3°F | 0.57 | 9.9 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 20 min |
| March | 24°F | 1°F | 12.2°F | 0.45 | 7.1 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 30 min |
| April | 44°F | 22°F | 32.9°F | 0.37 | 3.6 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 15 h |
| May | 60°F | 37°F | 48.6°F | 0.61 | 0.8 | 7 | <1 | 9 | 18 h 30 min |
| June | 70°F | 48°F | 59.0°F | 1.92 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 21 h 40 min |
| July | 71°F | 51°F | 61.2°F | 2.49 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 20 h 20 min |
| August | 65°F | 46°F | 55.3°F | 2.37 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | 1 | 16 h 40 min |
| September | 54°F | 35°F | 44.1°F | 1.56 | 2.3 | 12 | <1 | 12 | 13 h 10 min |
| October | 33°F | 18°F | 25.7°F | 0.87 | 7.5 | 10 | <1 | 29 | 9 h 50 min |
| November | 12°F | −1°F | 5.6°F | 0.83 | 11.2 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 6 h 20 min |
| December | 5°F | −8°F | -1.5°F | 0.64 | 11.5 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 3 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 38°F | 19°F | 28.5°F | 13.34 | 64.3 | 116 | <1 | 229 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −17°C | −24°C | −20.4°C | 17 mm | 26 cm |
| February | −11°C | −21°C | −15.9°C | 14 mm | 25 cm |
| March | −5°C | −17°C | −11.0°C | 11 mm | 18 cm |
| April | 7°C | −6°C | 0.5°C | 9 mm | 9 cm |
| May | 16°C | 3°C | 9.2°C | 15 mm | 2 cm |
| June | 21°C | 9°C | 15.0°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 22°C | 11°C | 16.2°C | 63 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 18°C | 8°C | 12.9°C | 60 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 12°C | 1°C | 6.7°C | 40 mm | 6 cm |
| October | 1°C | −8°C | −3.5°C | 22 mm | 19 cm |
| November | −11°C | −18°C | −14.7°C | 21 mm | 28 cm |
| December | −15°C | −22°C | −18.6°C | 16 mm | 29 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00502107; 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.
When is the best weather to visit College?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July and August. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (12).
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 USC00502107.
When is the last frost in College?
In College, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 18 in half of years and after June 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 6 in half of years and before August 24 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 181 year in 10 after June 1; 9 in 10 after May 7
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 61 year in 10 before August 24; 9 in 10 before September 20
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 111 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 20 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts College in zone 2b in ZIP code 99775. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, College's NOAA station is in zone 2b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −41°F (23 complete years).
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Alaska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00502107; 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 in College?
In a normal year in College, a 90°F day is rare, 229 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 116 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
- 229a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 154high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 116a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 22a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1948) is 94°F, on June 16, 1969; the lowest is −66°F, on December 28, 1961.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1967, with 20.72 in; the snowiest season is 1990–91, with 152.7 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00502107; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00502107. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is College?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around College, 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 much heating and cooling does College need?
A normal year in College brings 13,331 heating degree days, 2.5 times the median U.S. place (5,373), and 47 cooling degree days, 95% fewer than the median (908). Ten months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 906 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 2,159 | 0 |
| February | 1,726 | 0 |
| March | 1,638 | 0 |
| April | 965 | 0 |
| May | 510 | 1 |
| June | 199 | 19 |
| July | 143 | 23 |
| August | 304 | 5 |
| September | 626 | 0 |
| October | 1,218 | 0 |
| November | 1,782 | 0 |
| December | 2,062 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 13,331 | 47 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00502107. 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.
Has College been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 29.2°F, 0.7°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 28.5°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 27.5°F | −1.0°F | 19.54 | 121.1 |
| 2022 | 29.0°F | +0.5°F | 9.94 | 59.1 |
| 2023 | 29.6°F | +1.1°F | 11.74 | 90.4 |
| 2024 | 29.2°F | +0.7°F | 17.07 | 63.4 |
Over 67 complete years from 1950 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.1°F per century (+0.34°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00502107; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does College's climate compare?
College is warmer than 29 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 17. 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, College is Dfc: continental, no dry season, cool 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.
What do College's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near College. This page uses College Obsy; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From the center | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| College (5 mi NW) USC00502112 | 4 mi NW | 978 ft | 30.6°F | −6°F | 71°F | 13.9 | 62 | May 13 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about College's climate
What is the coldest month in College?
January, with a normal high of 2°F and a normal low of −11°F. The warmest is July (71°F by day, 51°F at night).
Does it snow in College?
Yes: 64 inches in a normal year, falling on 61 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (11.5 inches).
What is the rainiest month in College?
July, with 2.49 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.37 in.
What plant hardiness zone is College in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts College in zone 2b in ZIP code 99775. By the same method at College's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −41°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 2b.
How late can frost come in College?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 18; in one year in ten it comes after June 1. Waiting until June 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- University Experiment Station, AK1 miles from this station, 28.9°F a year
- Goldstream, AK2 miles from this station, 24.3°F a year
- Fairbanks Midtown, AK2 miles from this station, 29.0°F a year
- Aurora, AK4 miles from this station, 28.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made