Dry Creek, Alaska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Dry Creek's normal year runs from −15°F January nights to 72°F July afternoons, with 15.7 inches of precipitation and 57 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of −2.7°C, January lows of −26°C, July highs of 22°C, 399 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationDry Creek
- Station IDUSC00502568
- Location63.67°N 144.60°W
- Elevation1,355 ft (413 m)
- Population (census place)147
On October 23, the normal high in Dry Creek is 27°F and the normal low 11°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 34%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Dry Creek.
- Jan 1° -15°
- Feb 11° -8°
- Mar 25° -1°
- Apr 45° 21°
- May 59° 35°
- Jun 70° 46°
- Jul 72° 49°
- Aug 66° 44°
- Sep 53° 34°
- Oct 33° 17°
- Nov 11° -3°
- Dec 3° -11°
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 Dry Creek each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 72°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −15°F. The most precipitation falls in July (3.04 in), the least in February (0.41 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°F | −15°F | -6.9°F | 0.61 | 7.8 | 10 | <1 | 31 | 5 h 30 min |
| February | 11°F | −8°F | 1.3°F | 0.41 | 6.1 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 40 min |
| March | 25°F | −1°F | 12.0°F | 0.48 | 6.6 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 40 min |
| April | 45°F | 21°F | 33.1°F | 0.46 | 4.0 | 5 | <1 | 28 | 14 h 50 min |
| May | 59°F | 35°F | 47.0°F | 1.18 | 1.0 | 9 | <1 | 15 | 18 h 10 min |
| June | 70°F | 46°F | 57.6°F | 2.65 | 0.0 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 20 h 40 min |
| July | 72°F | 49°F | 60.1°F | 3.04 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 19 h 40 min |
| August | 66°F | 44°F | 54.5°F | 2.67 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | 4 | 16 h 30 min |
| September | 53°F | 34°F | 43.7°F | 1.63 | 2.1 | 10 | <1 | 17 | 13 h 10 min |
| October | 33°F | 17°F | 24.7°F | 1.09 | 11.1 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 10 h |
| November | 11°F | −3°F | 3.7°F | 0.75 | 9.3 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 6 h 50 min |
| December | 3°F | −11°F | -4.3°F | 0.72 | 9.4 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 4 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 37°F | 17°F | 27.2°F | 15.69 | 57.4 | 118 | 1 | 246 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −17°C | −26°C | −21.6°C | 15 mm | 20 cm |
| February | −12°C | −22°C | −17.1°C | 10 mm | 15 cm |
| March | −4°C | −18°C | −11.1°C | 12 mm | 17 cm |
| April | 7°C | −6°C | 0.6°C | 12 mm | 10 cm |
| May | 15°C | 2°C | 8.3°C | 30 mm | 3 cm |
| June | 21°C | 8°C | 14.2°C | 67 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 22°C | 9°C | 15.6°C | 77 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 19°C | 6°C | 12.5°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 12°C | 1°C | 6.5°C | 41 mm | 5 cm |
| October | 0°C | −8°C | −4.1°C | 28 mm | 28 cm |
| November | −12°C | −20°C | −15.7°C | 19 mm | 24 cm |
| December | −16°C | −24°C | −20.2°C | 18 mm | 24 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00502568; 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 Dry Creek?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July and August. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (13).
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 USC00502568.
When is the last frost in Dry Creek?
In Dry Creek, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 30 in half of years and after June 13 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before August 24 in half of years and before August 9 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 301 year in 10 after June 13; 9 in 10 after May 16
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- August 241 year in 10 before August 9; 9 in 10 before September 5
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 84 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 108 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 18 in half of springs and before September 3 in half of autumns.
By the USDA's method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Dry Creek's NOAA station is in plant hardiness zone 2a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −49°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 USC00502568; 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 Dry Creek?
In a normal year in Dry Creek, 1 day a year reaches 90°F, 246 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 118 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 1a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- 246a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 150high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 118a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 19a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1996) is 95°F, on June 15, 2013; the lowest is −60°F, on January 12, 2005.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2020, with 21.20 in; the snowiest season is 2021–22, with 99.3 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00502568; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00502568. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Dry Creek?
Over a year 67% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Dry Creek, 2.5 kWh per square metre a day. April is the sunniest month (78%) and October the cloudiest (55%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 60% | 0.2 |
| February | 61% | 0.8 |
| March | 73% | 2.4 |
| April | 78% | 4.4 |
| May | 72% | 5.3 |
| June | 65% | 5.3 |
| July | 63% | 4.7 |
| August | 64% | 3.7 |
| September | 61% | 2.3 |
| October | 55% | 1.0 |
| November | 56% | 0.3 |
| December | 65% | 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 Dry Creek need?
A normal year in Dry Creek brings 13,778 heating degree days, 2.6 times the median U.S. place (5,373), and 26 cooling degree days, 97% 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 782 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 2,230 | 0 |
| February | 1,784 | 0 |
| March | 1,644 | 0 |
| April | 957 | 0 |
| May | 558 | 0 |
| June | 234 | 11 |
| July | 163 | 13 |
| August | 328 | 3 |
| September | 641 | 0 |
| October | 1,251 | 0 |
| November | 1,839 | 0 |
| December | 2,148 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 13,778 | 26 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00502568. 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 Dry Creek been warmer than normal lately?
2025 averaged 29.7°F, 2.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 27.2°F. 4 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26.1°F | −1.1°F | 19.58 | 89.8 |
| 2022 | 27.8°F | +0.6°F | 18.05 | 83.7 |
| 2023 | 28.0°F | +0.8°F | 15.62 | 80.1 |
| 2024 | 28.3°F | +1.1°F | 15.01 | 62.7 |
| 2025 | 29.7°F | +2.5°F | 13.32 | 40.1 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00502568. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Dry Creek's climate compare?
Dry Creek is warmer than 20 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 24. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 27.2°F is warmer than 1%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Dry Creek 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.
Which places near Dry Creek share this climate record?
3 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their 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.
- Healy Lake, AK31 people · 23 mi N
- Dot Lake, AK0 people · 11 mi SE
- Dot Lake Village, AK0 people · 18 mi E
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 Dry Creek's climate
What is the coldest month in Dry Creek?
January, with a normal high of 1°F and a normal low of −15°F. The warmest is July (72°F by day, 49°F at night).
Does it snow in Dry Creek?
Yes: 57 inches in a normal year, falling on 56 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in October (11.1 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Dry Creek?
July, with 3.04 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is February with 0.41 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Dry Creek in?
By the same method at Dry Creek's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −49°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 2a.
How late can frost come in Dry Creek?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 30; in one year in ten it comes after June 13. Waiting until June 13 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Delta Junction, AK40 miles from this station, 30.0°F a year
- Delta (5 mi NE), AK42 miles from this station, 27.4°F a year
- Delta (6 mi N), AK47 miles from this station, 25.9°F a year
- Whitestone, AK51 miles from this station, 29.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made