Kenai, Alaska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Kenai's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 63°F July afternoons, with 18.3 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 2.0°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 17°C, 464 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationKenai Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00026523
- Location60.58°N 151.24°W
- Elevation91 ft (28 m)
- Population7,770
On October 23, the normal high in Kenai is 40°F and the normal low 25°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 39%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Kenai.
- Jan 22° 7°
- Feb 28° 12°
- Mar 33° 14°
- Apr 44° 28°
- May 55° 36°
- Jun 60° 44°
- Jul 63° 49°
- Aug 63° 47°
- Sep 56° 40°
- Oct 43° 29°
- Nov 30° 16°
- Dec 25° 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 Kenai each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 63°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in September (3.57 in), the least in April (0.58 in).
Each month has its own page with the day-by-day normals, the month's records and its recent years:
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22°F | 7°F | 14.9°F | 0.89 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 6 h 30 min |
| February | 28°F | 12°F | 19.9°F | 0.83 | 8 | <1 | 27 | 9 h |
| March | 33°F | 14°F | 23.6°F | 0.64 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 40 min |
| April | 44°F | 28°F | 36.0°F | 0.58 | 6 | <1 | 21 | 14 h 30 min |
| May | 55°F | 36°F | 45.4°F | 0.79 | 8 | <1 | 8 | 17 h 10 min |
| June | 60°F | 44°F | 52.1°F | 1.20 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 19 h |
| July | 63°F | 49°F | 56.0°F | 1.98 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 18 h 20 min |
| August | 63°F | 47°F | 54.8°F | 2.68 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 50 min |
| September | 56°F | 40°F | 47.8°F | 3.57 | 16 | <1 | 6 | 13 h |
| October | 43°F | 29°F | 35.9°F | 2.56 | 13 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 20 min |
| November | 30°F | 16°F | 23.2°F | 1.41 | 10 | <1 | 27 | 7 h 30 min |
| December | 25°F | 11°F | 18.1°F | 1.14 | 11 | <1 | 30 | 5 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 44°F | 28°F | 35.6°F | 18.27 | 122 | <1 | 197 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −14°C | −9.5°C | 23 mm |
| February | −2°C | −11°C | −6.7°C | 21 mm |
| March | 0°C | −10°C | −4.7°C | 16 mm |
| April | 7°C | −2°C | 2.2°C | 15 mm |
| May | 13°C | 2°C | 7.4°C | 20 mm |
| June | 16°C | 7°C | 11.2°C | 30 mm |
| July | 17°C | 9°C | 13.3°C | 50 mm |
| August | 17°C | 8°C | 12.7°C | 68 mm |
| September | 13°C | 4°C | 8.8°C | 91 mm |
| October | 6°C | −2°C | 2.2°C | 65 mm |
| November | −1°C | −9°C | −4.9°C | 36 mm |
| December | −4°C | −12°C | −7.7°C | 29 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station, and no record within 25 miles keeps one, so snow is left out here rather than estimated.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00026523; 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 Kenai?
No month's normal high reaches 65°F in Kenai: the warmest is July at 63°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 USW00026523.
When is the last frost in Kenai?
In Kenai, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 24 in half of years and after June 4 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 12 in half of years and before August 29 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 241 year in 10 after June 4; 9 in 10 after May 8
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 121 year in 10 before August 29; 9 in 10 before September 27
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 110 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 142 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 5 in half of springs and before September 25 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Kenai in zone 4b in ZIP code 99672, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Kenai's NOAA station is in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −25°F (29 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 USW00026523; 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 Kenai?
In a normal year in Kenai, a 90°F day is rare, 197 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 122 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
- 197a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 97high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 122a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1899) is 89°F, on July 4, 2019; the lowest is −48°F, on February 4, 1947.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1963, with 27.09 in; the snowiest season is 1948–49, with 135.8 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00026523; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00026523. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Kenai, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 48°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 51°F; the driest air comes in January (12°F). May is the windiest month (8.7 mph on average), and February has the most clear or nearly clear hours (55%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12°F | 81% | 76% | 7.6 mph | 46% | 44% |
| February | 15°F | 75% | 64% | 8.0 mph | 55% | 35% |
| March | 22°F | 70% | 56% | 8.4 mph | 48% | 38% |
| April | 31°F | 66% | 50% | 8.4 mph | 52% | 34% |
| May | 40°F | 67% | 53% | 8.7 mph | 50% | 26% |
| June | 47°F | 76% | 63% | 8.1 mph | 51% | 31% |
| July | 51°F | 81% | 69% | 7.6 mph | – | – |
| August | 46°F | 78% | 63% | 7.0 mph | – | – |
| September | 37°F | 78% | 64% | 7.6 mph | 41% | 48% |
| October | 24°F | 79% | 69% | 7.5 mph | – | – |
| November | 16°F | 82% | 80% | 7.8 mph | – | – |
| December | 13°F | 82% | 80% | 8.0 mph | – | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00026523. Monthly averages of all hours; afternoon humidity at 3 p.m. local standard time; sky as the share of hours NOAA's observations rate clear or few clouds (a dash where NOAA publishes no sky value).
How sunny is Kenai?
Over a year 66% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Kenai, 2.6 kWh per square metre a day. March is the sunniest month (70%) and December the cloudiest (55%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 60% | 0.3 |
| February | 62% | 1.0 |
| March | 70% | 2.4 |
| April | 68% | 3.8 |
| May | 68% | 5.0 |
| June | 68% | 5.5 |
| July | 65% | 4.8 |
| August | 65% | 3.8 |
| September | 62% | 2.4 |
| October | 59% | 1.2 |
| November | 60% | 0.4 |
| December | 55% | 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 Kenai need?
A normal year in Kenai brings 10,693 heating degree days, 99% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1 cooling degree days, 100% fewer than the median (908). Eleven months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 470 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,553 | 0 |
| February | 1,264 | 0 |
| March | 1,285 | 0 |
| April | 870 | 0 |
| May | 606 | 0 |
| June | 387 | 0 |
| July | 278 | 0 |
| August | 318 | 0 |
| September | 518 | 0 |
| October | 904 | 0 |
| November | 1,255 | 0 |
| December | 1,456 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 10,693 | 1 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00026523. 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 Kenai been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 35.5°F, 0.1°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 35.6°F. 1 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33.0°F | −2.6°F | 6.01 |
| 2022 | 36.1°F | +0.5°F | – |
| 2023 | 34.9°F | −0.7°F | – |
| 2024 | 35.5°F | −0.1°F | 7.58 |
Over 74 complete years from 1944 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.4°F per century (+0.24°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00026523; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Kenai's climate compare?
Kenai is warmer than 43 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 34. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 35.6°F is warmer than 2%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Kenai 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 Kenai 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.
- Nikiski, AK4,656 people · 10 mi N
- Salamatof, AK1,201 people · 3 mi NW
- Tyonek, AK291 people · 36 mi N
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Kenai's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Kenai. This page uses Kenai Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenai (9 mi N) USC00504550 | 7 mi NW | 126 ft | 35.6°F | 8°F | 63°F | – | – | May 18 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Kenai's climate
What is the coldest month in Kenai?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (63°F by day, 49°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Kenai?
September, with 3.57 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.58 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Kenai in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Kenai in zone 4b in ZIP code 99672, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Kenai's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −25°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 4a.
How late can frost come in Kenai?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 24; in one year in ten it comes after June 4. Waiting until June 4 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Kenai in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Soldotna, AK12 miles from this station, 34.1°F a year
- Sterling, AK12 miles from this station, 35.7°F a year
- Kenai (29 mi ENE), AK29 miles from this station, 34.2°F a year
- Big River Lakes, AK39 miles from this station, 39.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made