Hoonah, Alaska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Hoonah's normal year runs from 27°F January nights to 65°F July afternoons, with 65.8 inches of precipitation and 90 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 6.2°C, January lows of −3°C, July highs of 18°C, 1,671 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationHoonah
- Station IDUSC00503695
- Location58.11°N 135.43°W
- Elevation130 ft (40 m)
- Population978
On October 23, the normal high in Hoonah is 46°F and the normal low 36°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 76%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Hoonah.
- Jan 34° 27°
- Feb 37° 27°
- Mar 40° 28°
- Apr 49° 33°
- May 58° 40°
- Jun 62° 47°
- Jul 65° 51°
- Aug 64° 51°
- Sep 58° 45°
- Oct 48° 38°
- Nov 39° 31°
- Dec 36° 28°
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 Hoonah each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 65°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 27°F. The most precipitation falls in October (9.19 in), the least in May (2.51 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34°F | 27°F | 30.6°F | 6.75 | 25.0 | 20 | <1 | 23 | 7 h 10 min |
| February | 37°F | 27°F | 31.7°F | 5.02 | 12.3 | 16 | <1 | 21 | 9 h 20 min |
| March | 40°F | 28°F | 34.1°F | 4.43 | 20.0 | 16 | <1 | 24 | 11 h 40 min |
| April | 49°F | 33°F | 41.0°F | 3.13 | 1.7 | 17 | <1 | 14 | 14 h 20 min |
| May | 58°F | 40°F | 48.6°F | 2.51 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | 3 | 16 h 40 min |
| June | 62°F | 47°F | 54.6°F | 2.67 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | <1 | 18 h 10 min |
| July | 65°F | 51°F | 57.8°F | 3.30 | 0.0 | 18 | <1 | <1 | 17 h 40 min |
| August | 64°F | 51°F | 57.4°F | 4.86 | 0.0 | 19 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| September | 58°F | 45°F | 51.3°F | 7.26 | 0.0 | 22 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| October | 48°F | 38°F | 42.9°F | 9.19 | 0.6 | 24 | <1 | 6 | 10 h 30 min |
| November | 39°F | 31°F | 35.0°F | 8.81 | 13.4 | 20 | <1 | 18 | 8 h |
| December | 36°F | 28°F | 31.9°F | 7.86 | 17.0 | 21 | <1 | 23 | 6 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 49°F | 37°F | 43.1°F | 65.79 | 90.0 | 222 | <1 | 130 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1°C | −3°C | −0.8°C | 171 mm | 64 cm |
| February | 3°C | −3°C | −0.2°C | 128 mm | 31 cm |
| March | 4°C | −2°C | 1.2°C | 113 mm | 51 cm |
| April | 9°C | 1°C | 5.0°C | 80 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 14°C | 4°C | 9.2°C | 64 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 17°C | 8°C | 12.6°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 18°C | 11°C | 14.3°C | 84 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 18°C | 10°C | 14.1°C | 123 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 14°C | 7°C | 10.7°C | 184 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 9°C | 3°C | 6.1°C | 233 mm | 2 cm |
| November | 4°C | −1°C | 1.7°C | 224 mm | 34 cm |
| December | 2°C | −2°C | −0.1°C | 200 mm | 43 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00503695; 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 Hoonah?
No month's normal high reaches 65°F in Hoonah: the warmest is July at 65°F.
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 USC00503695.
When is the last frost in Hoonah?
In Hoonah, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 9 in half of years and after July 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 4 in half of years and before September 1 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 91 year in 10 after July 4; 9 in 10 after April 25
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 41 year in 10 before September 1; 9 in 10 before October 26
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 145 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 174 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 26 in half of springs and before October 19 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Hoonah in zone 7a in ZIP code 99829, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Hoonah's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 8°F (15 complete years); the map interpolates between stations and terrain, so the station and the ZIP area can differ by half a zone.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Alaska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00503695; 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 Hoonah?
In a normal year in Hoonah, a 90°F day is rare, 130 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 222 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
- 130a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 33high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 222a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 23a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00503695.
How sunny is Hoonah?
Over a year 57% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Hoonah, 2.4 kWh per square metre a day. May is the sunniest month (62%) and January the cloudiest (46%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 46% | 0.3 |
| February | 53% | 1.0 |
| March | 56% | 2.1 |
| April | 60% | 3.6 |
| May | 62% | 4.7 |
| June | 59% | 4.9 |
| July | 56% | 4.3 |
| August | 56% | 3.5 |
| September | 53% | 2.2 |
| October | 49% | 1.1 |
| November | 47% | 0.5 |
| December | 47% | 0.2 |
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 Hoonah need?
A normal year in Hoonah brings 7,981 heating degree days, 49% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 4 cooling degree days, 100% 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 735 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,068 | 0 |
| February | 932 | 0 |
| March | 956 | 0 |
| April | 722 | 0 |
| May | 507 | 0 |
| June | 314 | 2 |
| July | 227 | 2 |
| August | 235 | 1 |
| September | 411 | 0 |
| October | 685 | 0 |
| November | 900 | 0 |
| December | 1,025 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 7,981 | 4 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00503695. 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 Hoonah been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 43.5°F, 0.4°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 43.1°F. 2 of the 2 complete years since 2022 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 43.4°F | +0.3°F | 78.08 | 83.0 |
| 2024 | 43.5°F | +0.4°F | 65.25 | 86.3 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00503695. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Hoonah's climate compare?
Hoonah is warmer than 75 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 54. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 43.1°F is warmer than 12%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Hoonah is Dfb: continental, no dry season, warm 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 Hoonah 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.
- Tenakee Springs, AK112 people · 24 mi SE
- Game Creek, AK0 people · 5 mi SW
- Whitestone Logging Camp, AK0 people · 3 mi S
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 Hoonah's climate
What is the coldest month in Hoonah?
January, with a normal high of 34°F and a normal low of 27°F. The warmest is July (65°F by day, 51°F at night).
Does it snow in Hoonah?
Yes: 90 inches in a normal year, falling on 35 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (25.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Hoonah?
October, with 9.19 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is May with 2.51 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Hoonah in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Hoonah in zone 7a in ZIP code 99829, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Hoonah's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 8°F (15 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Hoonah?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 9; in one year in ten it comes after July 4. Waiting until July 4 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Gustavus, AK24 miles from this station, 40.6°F a year
- Glacier Bay, AK29 miles from this station, 40.9°F a year
- Pelican, AK31 miles from this station, 42.7°F a year
- Elfin Cove, AK34 miles from this station, 42.8°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made