Matanuska Experiment Farm, Alaska climate: Climate normals at a NOAA weather station
Matanuska Experiment Farm's normal year runs from 7°F January nights to 68°F July afternoons, with 14.4 inches of precipitation and 50 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 2.6°C, January lows of −14°C, July highs of 20°C, 365 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationMatanuska Experiment Farm
- Station IDUSC00505733
- Location61.57°N 149.25°W
- Elevation172 ft (52 m)
On October 23, the normal high in Matanuska Experiment Farm is 39°F and the normal low 24°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 27%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Matanuska Experiment Farm.
- Jan 23° 7°
- Feb 29° 12°
- Mar 34° 16°
- Apr 48° 29°
- May 59° 38°
- Jun 66° 46°
- Jul 68° 51°
- Aug 65° 48°
- Sep 57° 40°
- Oct 43° 27°
- Nov 29° 14°
- Dec 25° 10°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like at Matanuska Experiment Farm each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 68°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 7°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.48 in), the least in April (0.35 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°F | 7°F | 14.7°F | 0.81 | 9.2 | 7 | <1 | 29 | 6 h 10 min |
| February | 29°F | 12°F | 20.1°F | 0.78 | 9.0 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 8 h 50 min |
| March | 34°F | 16°F | 25.1°F | 0.52 | 7.6 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 40 min |
| April | 48°F | 29°F | 38.2°F | 0.35 | 1.4 | 4 | <1 | 21 | 14 h 40 min |
| May | 59°F | 38°F | 48.4°F | 0.72 | 0.5 | 6 | <1 | 6 | 17 h 30 min |
| June | 66°F | 46°F | 56.1°F | 1.22 | 0.0 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 19 h 30 min |
| July | 68°F | 51°F | 59.3°F | 1.92 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 18 h 40 min |
| August | 65°F | 48°F | 56.7°F | 2.48 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 16 h |
| September | 57°F | 40°F | 48.2°F | 2.32 | 0.0 | 14 | <1 | 5 | 13 h |
| October | 43°F | 27°F | 35.3°F | 1.39 | 3.8 | 9 | <1 | 20 | 10 h 10 min |
| November | 29°F | 14°F | 21.6°F | 0.84 | 8.1 | 7 | <1 | 28 | 7 h 20 min |
| December | 25°F | 10°F | 17.3°F | 1.02 | 9.9 | 9 | <1 | 30 | 5 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 45°F | 28°F | 36.7°F | 14.37 | 49.5 | 103 | <1 | 195 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −14°C | −9.6°C | 21 mm | 23 cm |
| February | −2°C | −11°C | −6.6°C | 20 mm | 23 cm |
| March | 1°C | −9°C | −3.8°C | 13 mm | 19 cm |
| April | 9°C | −2°C | 3.4°C | 9 mm | 4 cm |
| May | 15°C | 3°C | 9.1°C | 18 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 19°C | 8°C | 13.4°C | 31 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 20°C | 10°C | 15.2°C | 49 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 19°C | 9°C | 13.7°C | 63 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 14°C | 4°C | 9.0°C | 59 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 6°C | −3°C | 1.8°C | 35 mm | 10 cm |
| November | −2°C | −10°C | −5.8°C | 21 mm | 21 cm |
| December | −4°C | −12°C | −8.2°C | 26 mm | 25 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00505733; 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.
Which months are mildest at Matanuska Experiment Farm?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June, July and August. 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 USC00505733.
When is the last frost at Matanuska Experiment Farm?
In Matanuska Experiment Farm, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 14 in half of years and after May 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 20 in half of years and before September 6 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 141 year in 10 after May 26; 9 in 10 after May 3
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 201 year in 10 before September 6; 9 in 10 before October 1
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 127 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 152 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 1 in half of springs and before October 1 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Matanuska Experiment Farm in zone 5a in ZIP code 99654, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, the station is in zone 4b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (30 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 USC00505733; 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 at Matanuska Experiment Farm?
In a normal year in Matanuska Experiment Farm, a 90°F day is rare, 195 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 103 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
- 195a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 94high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 103a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 18a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1917) is 91°F, on June 17, 1936; the lowest is −41°F, on February 4, 1947.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1930, with 25.78 in; the snowiest season is 1989–90, with 97.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00505733; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00505733. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is it at Matanuska Experiment Farm?
Over a year 64% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds at Matanuska Experiment Farm, 2.5 kWh per square metre a day. April is the sunniest month (70%) and October the cloudiest (55%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 57% | 0.3 |
| February | 59% | 0.9 |
| March | 68% | 2.4 |
| April | 70% | 4.0 |
| May | 66% | 5.0 |
| June | 65% | 5.3 |
| July | 63% | 4.8 |
| August | 63% | 3.8 |
| September | 61% | 2.4 |
| October | 55% | 1.1 |
| November | 55% | 0.4 |
| December | 56% | 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 many heating and cooling degree days does Matanuska Experiment Farm record?
A normal year at Matanuska Experiment Farm brings 10,296 heating degree days, 92% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 8 cooling degree days, 99% fewer than the median (908). Nine months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 766 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,561 | 0 |
| February | 1,259 | 0 |
| March | 1,237 | 0 |
| April | 803 | 0 |
| May | 515 | 0 |
| June | 271 | 2 |
| July | 183 | 5 |
| August | 260 | 1 |
| September | 506 | 0 |
| October | 921 | 0 |
| November | 1,302 | 0 |
| December | 1,480 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 10,296 | 8 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00505733. 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.
Have recent years at Matanuska Experiment Farm been warmer than normal?
2025 averaged 38.8°F, 2.1°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 36.7°F. 2 of the 5 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34.0°F | −2.7°F | 16.16 | 54.5 |
| 2022 | 37.8°F | +1.1°F | 22.04 | 85.4 |
| 2023 | 36.5°F | −0.2°F | 16.30 | 76.9 |
| 2024 | 36.6°F | −0.1°F | 15.52 | 35.7 |
| 2025 | 38.8°F | +2.1°F | 16.11 | 13.3 |
Over 90 complete years from 1918 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 3.5°F per century (+0.19°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00505733; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Matanuska Experiment Farm's climate compare?
Matanuska Experiment Farm is warmer than 50 of the 85 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 21. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 36.7°F is warmer than 2%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Matanuska Experiment Farm 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 Matanuska Experiment Farm 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.
- Gateway, AK6,716 people · 1 mi E
- South Lakes, AK6,132 people · 2 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 Matanuska Experiment Farm's climate
What is the coldest month at Matanuska Experiment Farm?
January, with a normal high of 23°F and a normal low of 7°F. The warmest is July (68°F by day, 51°F at night).
Does it snow at Matanuska Experiment Farm?
Yes: 50 inches in a normal year, falling on 33 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (9.9 inches).
What is the rainiest month at Matanuska Experiment Farm?
August, with 2.48 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.35 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Matanuska Experiment Farm in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Matanuska Experiment Farm in zone 5a in ZIP code 99654, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at the station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −22°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 4b.
How late can frost come at Matanuska Experiment Farm?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 14; in one year in ten it comes after May 26. Waiting until May 26 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Ben's Farm, AK3 miles from this station, 36.9°F a year
- North Lakes, AK5 miles from this station, 37.0°F a year
- Palmer, AK6 miles from this station, 37.1°F a year
- Lazy Mountain, AK8 miles from this station, 35.4°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made