Galena, Alaska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Galena's normal year runs from −17°F January nights to 69°F July afternoons, with 13.9 inches of precipitation and 77 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of −3.3°C, January lows of −27°C, July highs of 21°C, 354 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationGalena
- Station IDUSC00503212
- Location64.74°N 156.88°W
- Elevation152 ft (46 m)
- From the centerunder 1 mile
- Population461
On October 23, the normal high in Galena is 26°F and the normal low 15°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 33%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Galena.
- Jan -3° -17°
- Feb 9° -9°
- Mar 19° -5°
- Apr 38° 17°
- May 57° 35°
- Jun 69° 47°
- Jul 69° 51°
- Aug 62° 46°
- Sep 52° 35°
- Oct 31° 20°
- Nov 12° -1°
- 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 Galena each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 69°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −17°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.47 in), the least in April (0.33 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3°F | −17°F | -9.8°F | 0.60 | 11.0 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 5 h |
| February | 9°F | −9°F | -0.3°F | 0.75 | 14.9 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 20 min |
| March | 19°F | −5°F | 6.9°F | 0.59 | 9.1 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 30 min |
| April | 38°F | 17°F | 27.2°F | 0.33 | 4.6 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 15 h |
| May | 57°F | 35°F | 45.6°F | 0.44 | 0.4 | 6 | <1 | 13 | 18 h 30 min |
| June | 69°F | 47°F | 58.0°F | 1.59 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 21 h 30 min |
| July | 69°F | 51°F | 60.2°F | 2.04 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 20 h 10 min |
| August | 62°F | 46°F | 54.0°F | 2.47 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | 1 | 16 h 40 min |
| September | 52°F | 35°F | 43.5°F | 1.75 | 0.3 | 12 | <1 | 10 | 13 h 10 min |
| October | 31°F | 20°F | 25.5°F | 1.18 | 8.3 | 11 | <1 | 27 | 9 h 50 min |
| November | 12°F | −1°F | 5.5°F | 1.24 | 12.8 | 10 | <1 | 30 | 6 h 30 min |
| December | 3°F | −11°F | -4.4°F | 0.95 | 15.8 | 11 | <1 | 31 | 3 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 35°F | 17°F | 26.0°F | 13.93 | 77.2 | 114 | <1 | 230 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −19°C | −27°C | −23.2°C | 15 mm | 28 cm |
| February | −13°C | −23°C | −17.9°C | 19 mm | 38 cm |
| March | −7°C | −20°C | −13.9°C | 15 mm | 23 cm |
| April | 3°C | −8°C | −2.7°C | 8 mm | 12 cm |
| May | 14°C | 1°C | 7.6°C | 11 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 20°C | 8°C | 14.4°C | 40 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 21°C | 11°C | 15.7°C | 52 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 17°C | 8°C | 12.2°C | 63 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 11°C | 2°C | 6.4°C | 44 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 0°C | −7°C | −3.6°C | 30 mm | 21 cm |
| November | −11°C | −18°C | −14.7°C | 31 mm | 33 cm |
| December | −16°C | −24°C | −20.2°C | 24 mm | 40 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00503212; 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 Galena?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June and July. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (9).
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 USC00503212.
When is the last frost in Galena?
In Galena, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 18 in half of years and after June 1 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 8 in half of years and before August 24 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 181 year in 10 after June 1; 9 in 10 after May 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 81 year in 10 before August 24; 9 in 10 before September 23
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 111 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 129 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 10 in half of springs and before September 18 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Galena in zone 1b in ZIP code 99741. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Galena's NOAA station is in zone 1b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −52°F (16 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 USC00503212; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026; 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 Galena?
In a normal year in Galena, a 90°F day is rare, 230 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 114 days bring measurable precipitation.
- 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
- 230a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 164high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 114a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 33a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00503212.
How sunny is Galena?
Over a year 70% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Galena, 2.5 kWh per square metre a day. March is the sunniest month (85%) and October the cloudiest (58%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 0.2 |
| February | 72% | 0.8 |
| March | 85% | 2.6 |
| April | 83% | 4.5 |
| May | 74% | 5.2 |
| June | 69% | 5.4 |
| July | 64% | 4.6 |
| August | 64% | 3.5 |
| September | 64% | 2.2 |
| October | 58% | 0.9 |
| November | 64% | 0.3 |
| December | 75% | 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 Galena need?
A normal year in Galena brings 14,208 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 769 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 2,317 | 0 |
| February | 1,827 | 0 |
| March | 1,801 | 0 |
| April | 1,133 | 0 |
| May | 602 | 0 |
| June | 218 | 8 |
| July | 164 | 17 |
| August | 343 | 1 |
| September | 644 | 0 |
| October | 1,225 | 0 |
| November | 1,785 | 0 |
| December | 2,151 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 14,208 | 26 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00503212. 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 Galena been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 27.0°F, 1.0°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 26.0°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 27.0°F | +1.0°F | – | – |
Over 34 complete years from 1973 to 2024, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 6.3°F per century (+0.35°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00503212; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Galena's climate compare?
Galena is warmer than 14 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 19. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 26.0°F is warmer than 0%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Galena is Dsc: continental, dry-summer, 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 Galena share this climate record?
2 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.
- Ruby, AK131 people · 41 mi E
- Koyukuk, AK92 people · 26 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 Galena's climate
What is the coldest month in Galena?
January, with a normal high of −3°F and a normal low of −17°F. The warmest is July (69°F by day, 51°F at night).
Does it snow in Galena?
Yes: 77 inches in a normal year, falling on 56 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (15.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Galena?
August, with 2.47 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.33 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Galena in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Galena in zone 1b in ZIP code 99741. By the same method at Galena's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −52°F (16 years, 1991-2020): zone 1b.
How late can frost come in Galena?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 18; in one year in ten it comes after June 1. Waiting until June 1 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Kaltag, AK62 miles from this station, 27.9°F a year
- Ruby (44 mi ESE), AK83 miles from this station, 26.3°F a year
- McGrath, AK129 miles from this station, 28.9°F a year
- Tanana, AK143 miles from this station, 25.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made