Deadhorse Airport, Alaska climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Deadhorse Airport's normal year runs from −22°F January nights to 55°F July afternoons, with 5.7 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of −10.4°C, January lows of −30°C, July highs of 13°C, 145 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDeadhorse Airport
- Station IDUSW00027406
- Location70.19°N 148.48°W
- Elevation61 ft (19 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Deadhorse Airport is 20°F and the normal low 8°F.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Deadhorse Airport.
- Jan -8° -22°
- Feb -8° -22°
- Mar -7° -21°
- Apr 10° -4°
- May 29° 19°
- Jun 46° 34°
- Jul 55° 40°
- Aug 50° 37°
- Sep 39° 30°
- Oct 24° 13°
- Nov 8° -5°
- Dec -3° -16°
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 Deadhorse Airport each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 55°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −22°F. The most precipitation falls in August (1.37 in), the least in February (0.13 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −8°F | −22°F | -14.9°F | 0.25 | – | <1 | 31 | 0 h |
| February | −8°F | −22°F | -14.8°F | 0.13 | – | <1 | 28 | 7 h 10 min |
| March | −7°F | −21°F | -13.8°F | 0.14 | – | <1 | 31 | 11 h 30 min |
| April | 10°F | −4°F | 2.8°F | 0.21 | – | <1 | 30 | 16 h |
| May | 29°F | 19°F | 23.6°F | 0.30 | – | <1 | 30 | 22 h 40 min |
| June | 46°F | 34°F | 39.9°F | 0.57 | – | <1 | 14 | 24 h |
| July | 55°F | 40°F | 47.3°F | 1.00 | – | <1 | 2 | 24 h |
| August | 50°F | 37°F | 43.5°F | 1.37 | – | <1 | 6 | 18 h 30 min |
| September | 39°F | 30°F | 34.6°F | 0.64 | – | <1 | 19 | 13 h 30 min |
| October | 24°F | 13°F | 18.3°F | 0.40 | – | <1 | 31 | 9 h 10 min |
| November | 8°F | −5°F | 1.7°F | 0.33 | – | <1 | 30 | 3 h 50 min |
| December | −3°F | −16°F | -9.2°F | 0.36 | – | <1 | 31 | 0 h |
| Year (annual) | 20°F | 7°F | 13.3°F | 5.70 | – | <1 | 283 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −22°C | −30°C | −26.1°C | 6 mm |
| February | −22°C | −30°C | −26.0°C | 3 mm |
| March | −21°C | −29°C | −25.4°C | 4 mm |
| April | −12°C | −20°C | −16.2°C | 5 mm |
| May | −2°C | −7°C | −4.7°C | 8 mm |
| June | 8°C | 1°C | 4.4°C | 14 mm |
| July | 13°C | 4°C | 8.5°C | 25 mm |
| August | 10°C | 3°C | 6.4°C | 35 mm |
| September | 4°C | −1°C | 1.4°C | 16 mm |
| October | −5°C | −11°C | −7.6°C | 10 mm |
| November | −13°C | −20°C | −16.8°C | 8 mm |
| December | −19°C | −26°C | −22.9°C | 9 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station, and no record within 25 miles keeps one, so snow is left out here rather than estimated.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00027406; 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 Deadhorse Airport?
No month's normal high reaches 65°F in Deadhorse Airport: the warmest is July at 55°F.
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 USW00027406.
How hot and how cold does it get at Deadhorse Airport?
In a normal year in Deadhorse Airport, a 90°F day is rare and 283 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
- 283a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 232high of 32°F or less
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1999) is 89°F, on August 6, 2024; the lowest is −54°F, on February 1, 2012.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2008, with 4.93 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00027406; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00027406. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How many heating and cooling degree days does Deadhorse Airport record?
A normal year at Deadhorse Airport brings 18,823 heating degree days, 3.5 times the median U.S. place (5,373), and 0 cooling degree days, 100% fewer than the median (908). Twelve months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 96 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 2,475 | 0 |
| February | 2,233 | 0 |
| March | 2,443 | 0 |
| April | 1,864 | 0 |
| May | 1,283 | 0 |
| June | 753 | 0 |
| July | 548 | 0 |
| August | 665 | 0 |
| September | 911 | 0 |
| October | 1,448 | 0 |
| November | 1,899 | 0 |
| December | 2,302 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 18,823 | 0 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00027406. 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 Deadhorse Airport been warmer than normal?
2024 averaged 16.3°F, 3.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 13.3°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 11.9°F | −1.4°F | – |
| 2022 | 13.8°F | +0.5°F | – |
| 2023 | 16.6°F | +3.3°F | 3.88 |
| 2024 | 16.3°F | +3.0°F | – |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00027406. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Deadhorse Airport's climate compare?
Deadhorse Airport is warmer than 0 of the 85 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 2. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 13.3°F is warmer than 0%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Deadhorse Airport is ET: tundra. 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 Deadhorse Airport share this climate record?
Prudhoe Bay 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.
- Prudhoe Bay, AK1,971 people · 14 mi NW
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 Deadhorse Airport's climate
What is the coldest month at Deadhorse Airport?
January, with a normal high of −8°F and a normal low of −22°F. The warmest is July (55°F by day, 40°F at night).
What is the rainiest month at Deadhorse Airport?
August, with 1.37 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.13 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Deadhorse Airport in?
By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −46°F (21 years, 1991-2020): zone 2a.
Nearby and next
- Deadhorse Airport in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Kuparuk, AK28 miles from this station, 13.5°F a year
- Colville Village, AK48 miles from this station, 13.2°F a year
- Alpine, AK58 miles from this station, 14.4°F a year
- Nuiqsut, AK59 miles from this station, 13.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made