Glacier Bay, 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 Glacier Bay's primary NOAA station, GLACIER BAY.
The climate verdict for Glacier Bay
Water is the standout signal in Glacier Bay, Alaska: 72.6 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 41°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.
- 41°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 28/100
- comfort score, above 0% of station-mapped location scores
- 72.6"
- yearly precipitation total
- 157 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Glacier Bay: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00503294 · Glacier Bay, AK 41°F mean · 72.6" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-NARROW · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 41°F
- RANK-COOL #480
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Port San Juan
- PRCP-WET 72.6"
- SWING-NARROW 26°F
- COMF-LOW 28/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,788 HDD
- STN-1 USC00503294
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Port San Juan, AK (+ 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.
- Glacier Bay (this station) 41°F
- Hot Snettisham Pwr…, AK 41°F
- Near Port San Juan, AK 41°F
- Near Bryce Canyon, UT 41°F
- Near Kitoi Bay, AK 41°F
Glacier Bay 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 · Glacier Bay
Glacier Bay: 20/100 · grade F
Glacier Bay publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Glacier Bay, 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 | 157 calendar days | 41/100 · D |
| Frost-free season | 157 days/year | 31/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 40.9°F · 26.6° from 67.5°F | 7/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 72.6 in · 37.6 from 35 in | 0/100 · F |
Glacier Bay · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Glacier Bay is a continental Köppen climate: Dfc
Coldest-month mean 28.5°F and warmest-month mean 54.6°F place this station in continental, no dry season, cool summer climates (Dfc). Class Dfc is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, cool summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfc
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 54.6°F
- Coldest month
- 28.5°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 Glacier Bay sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Glacier Bay's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 93%
- Among 6,861 stations, Glacier Bay sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 2% wettest
- Glacier Bay's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 94%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Glacier Bay is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Glacier Bay compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Glacier Bay'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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°F (0°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 6.7" | 26.5 | 0.0 |
| February | 34°F (1°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 4.8" | 24.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 37°F (3°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 32°F (0°C) | 4.3" | 26.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 46°F (8°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 3.4" | 15.7 | 0.0 |
| May | 54°F (12°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 3.1" | 3.2 | 0.0 |
| June | 59°F (15°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 2.8" | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| July | 61°F (16°C) | 49°F (9°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 4.8" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| August | 60°F (16°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 6.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| September | 54°F (12°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 9.2" | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| October | 45°F (7°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 10.2" | 6.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 37°F (3°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 8.5" | 20.0 | 0.0 |
| December | 33°F (1°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 8.9" | 25.7 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 61°F around July 31, short of 90°F on every date, while 157 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 25°F near January 15.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 10, then returns to freezing around November 6, covering 157 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
May 15 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 15°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Glacier Bay.
Where Glacier Bay Stands Nationally
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 73 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 15°F.
Glacier Bay earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
Glacier Bay spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 19% of the annual total and December through February 28%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Glacier Bay has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry an unusually narrow 26.1°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: October averages 10.2" and June 2.8". The three wettest months together take 39% 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 10
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 6
50% probability date
Growing Season
157 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,788
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
0
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AK closest to Glacier Bay 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 (41°F here).
- Danforth, ME 41°F · 0.0°F off
- Fessenden, ND 41°F · 0.0°F off
- Munising, MI 41°F · 0.0°F off
- Ottertail, MN 41°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (72.6" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Helen, GA 72.7" · 0.1" off
- Hialeah, FL 72.9" · 0.3" off
- Juno Beach, FL 72.2" · 0.4" off
- Hana, HI 72.2" · 0.4" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Glacier Bay's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · low swing
Heating is the larger measured load in Glacier Bay, at 8,788 degree days versus 0 for cooling. Unlike a strongly continental record, however, its 26.1°F month-to-month range is compact; persistent cool-season demand matters more than a dramatic summer-to-winter reversal.
Glacier Bay's frost-free season lasts about 157 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
Glacier Bay's 26.1°F seasonal spread is compact even though precipitation is abundant. July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar. The annual average is 41°F. Temperature is relatively steady; the monthly rows show how rain and snow observations vary across the calendar.
Alongside its heating load, Glacier Bay carries 72.6 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Glacier Bay's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Glacier Bay, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Glacier Bay's climate
How much rain does Glacier Bay get? ▼
How cold does Glacier Bay 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 Glacier Bay's primary station: GLACIER BAY (USC00503294). 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 Glacier Bay; 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 Glacier Bay 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.