Deadhorse, 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 Deadhorse's primary NOAA station, DEADHORSE AP.
The climate verdict for Deadhorse
Winter sets the terms in Deadhorse, Alaska. A pronounced 62.2°F seasonal swing and heating demand above twice the cooling total frame an annual average of 13°F. July is the warmest month at 47°F and January the coldest at -15°F.
- 13°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 5.7"
- annual precipitation
Deadhorse: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00027406 · Deadhorse, AK 13°F mean · 5.7" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-UNK · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 13°F
- RANK-COOL #1
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Utqiagvik (form…
- PRCP-ARID 5.7"
- SWING-WIDE 62°F
- COMF-UNK Comfort n/a
- LOAD-HEAT 18,823 HDD
- STN-1 USW00027406
- BOOK-FULL 5/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), AK ( -0.6 °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.
- Hot Toolik Lake, AK 19°F
- Near Wainwright, AK 15°F
- Near Alpine, AK 14°F
- Deadhorse (this station) 13°F
- Cold Utqiagvik (form…, AK 13°F
Deadhorse 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 · Deadhorse
Deadhorse: 6/100 · grade F
Deadhorse publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Deadhorse, not an official NOAA rating. Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Summer moisture balance | 38.8°F mean dew point | 30/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 5.7 in · 29.3 from 35 in | 3/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 13.3°F · 54.2° from 67.5°F | 0/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 273 calendar days | 0/100 · F |
Deadhorse · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method .
Deadhorse falls in the polar Köppen band: ET
The warmest month stays below 10°C: tundra class (ET). Class ET is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: polar, specifically tundra.
- Köppen code
- ET
- Group
- Polar
- Warmest month
- 47.3°F
- Coldest month
- -14.9°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 Deadhorse sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Deadhorse's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 100%
- Among 6,861 stations, Deadhorse sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 99%
- Deadhorse's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 99%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Deadhorse is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -8°F (-22°C) | -22°F (-30°C) | -15°F (-26°C) | 0.3" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | -8°F (-22°C) | -22°F (-30°C) | -15°F (-26°C) | 0.1" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| March | -7°F (-21°C) | -21°F (-29°C) | -14°F (-25°C) | 0.1" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 10°F (-12°C) | -4°F (-20°C) | 3°F (-16°C) | 0.2" | 30.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 29°F (-2°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 0.3" | 30.1 | 0.0 |
| June | 46°F (8°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 0.6" | 14.4 | 0.0 |
| July | 55°F (13°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 1.0" | 2.2 | 0.0 |
| August | 50°F (10°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 44°F (6°C) | 1.4" | 5.7 | 0.0 |
| September | 39°F (4°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 35°F (1°C) | 0.6" | 19.0 | 0.0 |
| October | 24°F (-5°C) | 13°F (-11°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 0.4" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
| November | 8°F (-13°C) | -5°F (-20°C) | 2°F (-17°C) | 0.3" | 30.0 | 0.0 |
| December | -3°F (-19°C) | -16°F (-26°C) | -9°F (-23°C) | 0.4" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 56°F around July 10, short of 90°F on every date, while 273 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -23°F near March 4.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into June 10, then returns to freezing around September 12, covering 273 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.
The widest day
July 6 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 16°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Deadhorse.
Where Deadhorse Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 273 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 6 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Deadhorse earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
Deadhorse runs a summer-peaked wet season
52% of Deadhorse's yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is August at 1.4", on a wide 62.2°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: August, July, September, taking 53% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: February at 0.1".
- Winter share: 13% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
N/A
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
N/A
50% probability date
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
18,823
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
0
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | 88% | 13.0 | N/A | N/A |
| March | 82% | 12.1 | 38% | 31% |
| April | 85% | 12.2 | N/A | N/A |
| May | 87% | 13.4 | N/A | N/A |
| June | 79% | 11.8 | N/A | N/A |
| July | 83% | 11.1 | N/A | N/A |
| August | 87% | 11.2 | N/A | N/A |
| September | 88% | 12.4 | N/A | N/A |
| October | 85% | 11.8 | N/A | N/A |
| November | 82% | 13.1 | N/A | N/A |
| December | 88% | 13.0 | N/A | N/A |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AK closest to Deadhorse 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 (13°F here).
- Cooke City, MT 34°F · 20.9°F off
- Crested Butte, CO 34°F · 20.9°F off
- Silver Gate, MT 34°F · 21.0°F off
- Stanley, ID 34°F · 21.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (5.7" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Bouse, AZ 5.7" · 0.0" off
- Mojave, CA 5.8" · 0.1" off
- Mina, NV 5.6" · 0.1" off
- Victorville, CA 5.6" · 0.1" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Deadhorse's limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · high swing
Winter and seasonal range jointly define this record. Deadhorse logs 18,823 heating degree days, more than twice its 0 cooling total, while the typical coldest-to-warmest-month gap reaches 62.2°F. The annual mean therefore compresses two materially different seasons.
A frost-free growing-season length is not available for Deadhorse. That missing field is kept separate from the observed temperature and precipitation record rather than filled from a regional estimate.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in this dry, high-range record. The gap is 62.2°F, so a single annual figure is especially lossy; the annual average is 13°f. Compare monthly temperature and precipitation together before drawing a seasonal conclusion about Deadhorse.
Deadhorse's cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 5.7 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Deadhorse wettest normal
August
August concentrates the scarce annual total (5.7 inches).
Deadhorse driest normal
February
February is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Deadhorse's climate
How dry is Deadhorse? ▼
How cold does Deadhorse get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Deadhorse? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Deadhorse's primary station: DEADHORSE AP (USW00027406). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Deadhorse; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Deadhorse 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.