Elfin Cove, AK Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Explore NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 climate normals → and a clearly labeled PlainClimate comfort calculation
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Elfin Cove's primary NOAA station, ELFIN COVE.
The climate verdict for Elfin Cove
Water is the standout signal in Elfin Cove, Alaska: 104.0 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 43°F. At 28/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 0% of scores.
- 43°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 28/100
- comfort score, above 0% of station-mapped location scores
- 104.0"
- annual precipitation · 110" snow
- 189 days
- frost-free growing season
Elfin Cove: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00502785 · Elfin Cove, AK 43°F mean · 104.0" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-NARROW · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 43°F
- RANK-COOL #755
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Westcliffe
- PRCP-WET 104.0"
- SWING-NARROW 22°F
- COMF-LOW 28/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,083 HDD
- STN-1 USC00502785
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Westcliffe, CO (+ 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.
- Elfin Cove (this station) 43°F
- Cold Pelican, AK 43°F
- Hot Mt Mitchell, NC 43°F
- Near Westcliffe, CO 43°F
- Near Skagway, AK 43°F
Elfin Cove 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 · Elfin Cove
Elfin Cove: 29/100 · grade F
Elfin Cove publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Elfin Cove, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 28/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 121 calendar days | 64/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 189 days/year | 56/100 · C |
| Annual temperature balance | 42.8°F · 24.7° from 67.5°F | 12/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 104.0 in · 69.0 from 35 in | 0/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 110.0 inches/year | 0/100 · F |
Elfin Cove · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Elfin Cove is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfb
Coldest-month mean 32.7°F and warmest-month mean 54.4°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, warm summer climates (Cfb). Class Cfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfb
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 54.4°F
- Coldest month
- 32.7°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 Elfin Cove sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Elfin Cove's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 89%
- Among 6,861 stations, Elfin Cove sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 1% wettest
- Elfin Cove's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 96%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Elfin Cove is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Elfin Cove compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Elfin Cove's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
28 0th percentile score exceeds 0% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Above this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Above this entry.
- 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
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36°F (2°C) | 29°F (-1°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 10.5" | 30.1" | 17.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 38°F (3°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 8.0" | 19.7" | 15.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 40°F (4°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 7.8" | 20.3" | 16.4 | 0.0 |
| April | 46°F (8°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 5.8" | 2.1" | 6.9 | 0.0 |
| May | 52°F (11°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 4.7" | 0.1" | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| June | 56°F (13°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 51°F (10°C) | 3.6" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| July | 58°F (14°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 4.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| August | 59°F (15°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 7.9" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| September | 56°F (13°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 12.2" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| October | 48°F (9°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 14.5" | 1.5" | 1.9 | 0.0 |
| November | 40°F (5°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 12.3" | 15.8" | 9.4 | 0.0 |
| December | 37°F (3°C) | 31°F (-1°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 11.8" | 20.4" | 15.2 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 59°F around August 9, short of 90°F on every date, while 121 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 29°F near January 11.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into March 29, then returns to freezing around November 30, covering 121 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 October 10, when 77% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is May 9 at 55%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 247 wet dates a year.
The widest day
May 4 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 12°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Elfin Cove.
Where Elfin Cove Stands Nationally
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 104 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 12°F.
Elfin Cove earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
Snow: 30.1"
22.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 19.7"
20.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 20.3"
19.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 2.1"
17.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
16.8 days with precipitation
18.3 days with precipitation
19.8 days with precipitation
20.4 days with precipitation
22.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.5"
22.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 15.8"
22.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 20.4"
23.6 days with precipitation
Elfin Cove spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 16% of the annual total and December through February 29%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Elfin Cove has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry an unusually narrow 21.7°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: October averages 14.5" and June 3.6". The three wettest months together take 37% 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.
When it rains in Elfin Cove, it arrives in quantity
104.0" of precipitation falls across only about 247 wet days here, averaging 0.42 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 247 a year, 68% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.42 inches
- Most wet days
- December, about 24
- Fewest wet days
- May, about 17
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Winter brings real snow to Elfin Cove
Elfin Cove averages 110.0 inches of snowfall a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 45 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: 110.0 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 45 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 11% 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
November 1
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 26
50% probability date
Growing Season
189 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,083
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
0
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
August
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AK closest to Elfin Cove 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 (43°F here).
- Cooperstown, NY 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Craig, CO 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Denton, MT 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Farmington, ME 43°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (104.0" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Baring, WA 109.9" · 5.8" off
- Naselle, WA 112.2" · 8.2" off
- Cougar, WA 115.3" · 11.3" off
- Paauilo, HI 90.4" · 13.7" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Elfin Cove
heating led · wet · low swing
Heating is the larger measured load in Elfin Cove, at 8,083 degree days versus 0 for cooling. Unlike a strongly continental record, however, its 21.7°F month-to-month range is compact; persistent cool-season demand matters more than a dramatic summer-to-winter reversal.
Elfin Cove's frost-free season lasts about 189 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
-
1. Elfin Cove coldest normal
January
The monthly mean of 33°F (0°C) sits near freezing, so cold nights and above-freezing afternoons share the same month.
-
2. Elfin Cove typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Elfin Cove snow peak
January
Elfin Cove averages 110.0 inches of snow a year, with January the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Elfin Cove's climate
How much snow does Elfin Cove get? ▼
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Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Elfin Cove's primary station: ELFIN COVE (USC00502785). 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 a census-designated place (GEOID 0222140), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Elfin Cove: 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 Elfin Cove 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.