Nome, Alaska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Nome's normal year runs from −2°F January nights to 58°F July afternoons, with 17.2 inches of precipitation and 81 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of −2.2°C, January lows of −19°C, July highs of 14°C, 437 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationNome Airport
- Station IDUSW00026617
- Location64.51°N 165.44°W
- Elevation13 ft (4 m)
- Population3,668
On October 14, the normal high in Nome is 37°F and the normal low 26°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 41%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Nome.
- Jan 13° -2°
- Feb 17° 1°
- Mar 18° 2°
- Apr 29° 16°
- May 44° 31°
- Jun 55° 42°
- Jul 58° 46°
- Aug 56° 44°
- Sep 49° 37°
- Oct 36° 25°
- Nov 24° 12°
- Dec 16° 2°
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 Nome each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 58°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −2°F. The most precipitation falls in August (3.22 in), the least in March (0.74 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. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13°F | −2°F | 5.6°F | 0.94 | 13.4 | 10 | <1 | 31 | 5 h 10 min |
| February | 17°F | 1°F | 9.0°F | 0.99 | 14.7 | 11 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 30 min |
| March | 18°F | 2°F | 9.6°F | 0.74 | 10.7 | 9 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 30 min |
| April | 29°F | 16°F | 22.7°F | 0.74 | 6.8 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 15 h |
| May | 44°F | 31°F | 37.3°F | 0.89 | 1.9 | 9 | <1 | 18 | 18 h 20 min |
| June | 55°F | 42°F | 48.3°F | 0.99 | 0.2 | 9 | <1 | 2 | 21 h 20 min |
| July | 58°F | 46°F | 52.0°F | 2.35 | 0.0 | 13 | <1 | <1 | 20 h |
| August | 56°F | 44°F | 50.2°F | 3.22 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | 1 | 16 h 40 min |
| September | 49°F | 37°F | 43.1°F | 2.20 | 0.5 | 14 | <1 | 9 | 13 h 10 min |
| October | 36°F | 25°F | 30.4°F | 1.84 | 4.7 | 13 | <1 | 23 | 10 h |
| November | 24°F | 12°F | 18.2°F | 1.27 | 12.1 | 11 | <1 | 29 | 6 h 30 min |
| December | 16°F | 2°F | 9.1°F | 1.05 | 15.8 | 11 | <1 | 31 | 4 h |
| Year (annual) | 35°F | 21°F | 28.0°F | 17.22 | 80.8 | 131 | <1 | 231 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −10°C | −19°C | −14.7°C | 24 mm | 34 cm |
| February | −8°C | −17°C | −12.8°C | 25 mm | 37 cm |
| March | −8°C | −17°C | −12.4°C | 19 mm | 27 cm |
| April | −1°C | −9°C | −5.2°C | 19 mm | 17 cm |
| May | 6°C | −1°C | 2.9°C | 23 mm | 5 cm |
| June | 13°C | 5°C | 9.1°C | 25 mm | 1 cm |
| July | 14°C | 8°C | 11.1°C | 60 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 13°C | 7°C | 10.1°C | 82 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 9°C | 3°C | 6.2°C | 56 mm | 1 cm |
| October | 2°C | −4°C | −0.9°C | 47 mm | 12 cm |
| November | −4°C | −11°C | −7.7°C | 32 mm | 31 cm |
| December | −9°C | −17°C | −12.7°C | 27 mm | 40 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00026617; 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 Nome?
No month's normal high reaches 65°F in Nome: the warmest is July at 58°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 USW00026617.
When is the last frost in Nome?
In Nome, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 5 in half of years and after June 26 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 3 in half of years and before August 15 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
- June 51 year in 10 after June 26; 9 in 10 after May 20
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 31 year in 10 before August 15; 9 in 10 before September 22
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 88 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 117 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 23 in half of springs and before September 19 in half of autumns.
By the USDA's method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Nome's NOAA station is in plant hardiness zone 3b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −31°F (30 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 USW00026617; 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 Nome?
In a normal year in Nome, a 90°F day is rare, 231 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 131 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
- 231a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 163high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 131a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 27a normal year
The highest temperature in Nome's official record (kept by the National Weather Service since 1906) is 86°F, on June 19, 2013; the lowest is −54°F, on January 28, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1998, with 26.90 in; the snowiest season is 1994–95, with 129.4 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00026617; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), NWS threaded record OMEthr. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How humid and windy is Nome, and how clear are its skies?
The summer (June-August) dew point averages 44°F. The muggiest month is July, with an average dew point of 47°F; the driest air comes in January (−1°F). February is the windiest month (10.1 mph on average), and January has the most clear or nearly clear hours (48%).
| Month | Dew point | Humidity | Afternoon humidity | Wind | Clear or few clouds | Overcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°F | 77% | 74% | 8.8 mph | 48% | 33% |
| February | 5°F | 77% | 74% | 10.1 mph | 40% | 39% |
| March | 8°F | 75% | 72% | 8.6 mph | 40% | 36% |
| April | 24°F | 77% | 74% | 8.3 mph | 34% | 37% |
| May | 35°F | 71% | 66% | 8.8 mph | 31% | 30% |
| June | 44°F | 79% | 74% | 9.1 mph | 13% | 54% |
| July | 47°F | 83% | 78% | 9.1 mph | 16% | 54% |
| August | 42°F | 79% | 71% | 9.4 mph | 23% | 47% |
| September | 31°F | 77% | 68% | 9.7 mph | 27% | 44% |
| October | 20°F | 79% | 74% | 10.0 mph | 33% | 46% |
| November | 7°F | 77% | 76% | 9.9 mph | 41% | 37% |
| December | 3°F | 76% | 76% | 9.3 mph | 42% | 36% |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 hourly normals, station USW00026617. 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 Nome?
Over a year 69% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Nome, 2.5 kWh per square metre a day. March is the sunniest month (83%) and October the cloudiest (59%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 65% | 0.1 |
| February | 71% | 0.8 |
| March | 83% | 2.6 |
| April | 80% | 4.4 |
| May | 70% | 5.0 |
| June | 70% | 5.6 |
| July | 61% | 4.4 |
| August | 64% | 3.5 |
| September | 64% | 2.2 |
| October | 59% | 0.9 |
| November | 60% | 0.2 |
| December | 74% | 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 Nome need?
A normal year in Nome brings 13,485 heating degree days, 2.5 times the median U.S. place (5,373), and 3 cooling degree days, 100% fewer than the median (908). Twelve months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 247 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,841 | 0 |
| February | 1,567 | 0 |
| March | 1,717 | 0 |
| April | 1,271 | 0 |
| May | 860 | 0 |
| June | 502 | 1 |
| July | 405 | 2 |
| August | 459 | 0 |
| September | 657 | 0 |
| October | 1,071 | 0 |
| November | 1,403 | 0 |
| December | 1,733 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 13,485 | 3 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00026617. 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 Nome been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 29.5°F, 1.5°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 28.0°F. 2 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26.1°F | −1.9°F | – | – |
| 2022 | 30.0°F | +2.0°F | 21.93 | – |
| 2023 | 26.2°F | −1.8°F | 23.18 | – |
| 2024 | 29.5°F | +1.5°F | 23.98 | – |
Over 101 complete years from 1909 to 2025, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.8°F per century (+0.10°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00026617; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Nome's climate compare?
Nome is warmer than 25 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 30. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 28.0°F is warmer than 1%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Nome is Dfc: continental, no dry season, 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.
Questions about Nome's climate
What is the coldest month in Nome?
January, with a normal high of 13°F and a normal low of −2°F. The warmest is July (58°F by day, 46°F at night).
Does it snow in Nome?
Yes: 81 inches in a normal year, falling on 72 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (15.8 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Nome?
August, with 3.22 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 0.74 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Nome in?
By the same method at Nome's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −31°F (30 years, 1991-2020): zone 3b.
How late can frost come in Nome?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 5; in one year in ten it comes after June 26. Waiting until June 26 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Nome in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Deering, AK132 miles from this station, 23.2°F a year
- Kotzebue, AK181 miles from this station, 24.0°F a year
- Kaltag, AK200 miles from this station, 27.9°F a year
- Kivalina, AK224 miles from this station, 22.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made