Fort Richardson Wtp, AK Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Fort Richardson Wtp's primary NOAA station, FT RICHARDSON WTP.
The climate verdict for Fort Richardson Wtp
Dryness leads the climate profile for Fort Richardson Wtp, Alaska, with 15.7 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 36°F. At 34/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 2% of scores.
- 36°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 34/100
- comfort score, above 2% of station-mapped location scores
- 15.7"
- annual precipitation · 59" snow
- 140 days
- frost-free growing season
Fort Richardson Wtp: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00503163 · Fort Richardson Wtp, AK 36°F mean · 15.7" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 36°F
- RANK-COOL #137
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Fraser
- PRCP-DRY 15.7"
- SWING-MID 43°F
- COMF-LOW 34/100
- LOAD-HEAT 10,542 HDD
- STN-1 USC00503163
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Fraser, CO ( -0.1 °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.
- Fort Richardson… (this station) 36°F
- Cold St Paul Island, AK 36°F
- Hot Amber Lake, AK 36°F
- Near Fraser, CO 36°F
- Near Talkeetna, AK 36°F
Fort Richardson Wtp 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 · Fort Richardson Wtp
Fort Richardson Wtp: 14/100 · grade F
Fort Richardson Wtp publishes 5 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 1 missing weight rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Fort Richardson Wtp, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 34/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 15.7 in · 19.3 from 35 in | 31/100 · F |
| Frost-free season | 140 days/year | 18/100 · F |
| Snowfall burden | 59.4 inches/year | 16/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 200 calendar days | 14/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 36.1°F · 31.4° from 67.5°F | 0/100 · F |
Fort Richardson Wtp · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Fort Richardson Wtp is a continental Köppen climate: Dsc
Coldest-month mean 14.8°F and warmest-month mean 58.2°F place this station in continental, dry-summer, cool summer climates (Dsc). Class Dsc is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-summer, cool summer.
- Köppen code
- Dsc
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 58.2°F
- Coldest month
- 14.8°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 Fort Richardson Wtp sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Fort Richardson Wtp's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 98%
- Among 6,861 stations, Fort Richardson Wtp sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 81%
- Fort Richardson Wtp's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- 50th percentile swing
- Typical seasonal amplitude versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Fort Richardson Wtp compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Fort Richardson Wtp's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
34 2nd percentile score exceeds 2% 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%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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 | 21°F (-6°C) | 8°F (-13°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 0.6" | 9.8" | 30.3 | 0.0 |
| February | 28°F (-2°C) | 12°F (-11°C) | 20°F (-7°C) | 0.9" | 10.3" | 27.6 | 0.0 |
| March | 33°F (1°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 0.7" | 10.7" | 30.3 | 0.0 |
| April | 46°F (8°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 0.4" | 1.5" | 21.4 | 0.0 |
| May | 57°F (14°C) | 38°F (3°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 0.7" | 0.4" | 3.9 | 0.0 |
| June | 64°F (18°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 1.1" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| July | 66°F (19°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 2.0" | 0.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| August | 64°F (18°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 2.5" | 0.0" | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| September | 55°F (13°C) | 40°F (4°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 2.7" | 0.1" | 4.0 | 0.0 |
| October | 42°F (5°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 1.7" | 4.4" | 20.8 | 0.0 |
| November | 28°F (-2°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 1.2" | 9.0" | 28.9 | 0.0 |
| December | 24°F (-4°C) | 11°F (-12°C) | 18°F (-8°C) | 1.4" | 13.2" | 30.6 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 66°F around July 6, short of 90°F on every date, while 200 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 7°F near January 10.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 24, then returns to freezing around October 8, covering 200 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 September 7, when 47% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is April 11 at 11%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 102 wet dates a year.
The widest day
May 28 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 20°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Fort Richardson Wtp.
Where Fort Richardson Wtp Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 200 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 20°F.
Fort Richardson Wtp 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: 9.8"
6.3 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.3"
6.9 days with precipitation
Snow: 10.7"
5.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 1.5"
2.6 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.4"
6.3 days with precipitation
8.0 days with precipitation
11.9 days with precipitation
13.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 0.1"
14.4 days with precipitation
Snow: 4.4"
10.8 days with precipitation
Snow: 9.0"
7.5 days with precipitation
Snow: 13.2"
8.1 days with precipitation
Fort Richardson Wtp runs a summer-peaked wet season
36% of Fort Richardson Wtp'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 September at 2.7", on a 43.4°F seasonal spread. 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: September, August, July, taking 46% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: April at 0.4".
- Winter share: 18% 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.
Fort Richardson Wtp is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 102 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 28% of the calendar, and they carry 15.7" between them. At roughly 0.15 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is September at about 14 wet days; the driest is April at about 3.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
Winter brings real snow to Fort Richardson Wtp
Fort Richardson Wtp averages 59.4 inches of snowfall a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals, spread across roughly 28 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: 59.4 inches of depth.
- Days recording measurable snow: about 28 a year.
- At a rough ten-to-one melt ratio, snow accounts for on the order of 38% 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
September 26
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 9
50% probability date
Growing Season
140 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
10,542
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
8
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AK closest to Fort Richardson Wtp 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 (36°F here).
- Rolette, ND 36°F · 0.0°F off
- Fraser, CO 36°F · 0.1°F off
- Lakeview, MT 36°F · 0.3°F off
- Atlantic City, WY 37°F · 0.4°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (15.7" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Las Vegas, NM 15.7" · 0.0" off
- Mosquero, NM 15.8" · 0.0" off
- Norwood, CO 15.8" · 0.0" off
- Busby, MT 15.7" · 0.0" off
Snow and freeze rhythm
When cold and snow define Fort Richardson Wtp
heating led · dry · mid swing
Fort Richardson Wtp's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 10,542 annual heating degree days against 8 for cooling. Its 43.4°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 140 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
-
1. Fort Richardson Wtp coldest normal
January
Averaging 15°F (-10°C), this month sits below freezing for the month as a whole, not merely overnight.
-
2. Fort Richardson Wtp typical freeze period
January through December
The station reports average freezing days from January through December.
-
3. Fort Richardson Wtp snow peak
December
Fort Richardson Wtp averages 59.4 inches of snow a year, with December the snowiest month on the normals.
Questions about Fort Richardson Wtp's climate
How much snow does Fort Richardson Wtp get? ▼
How cold does Fort Richardson Wtp get in winter? ▼
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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 Fort Richardson Wtp's primary station: FT RICHARDSON WTP (USC00503163). 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 Fort Richardson Wtp; 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 Fort Richardson Wtp 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.