Palmer, Alaska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Palmer's normal year runs from 8°F January nights to 68°F July afternoons, with 12.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 2.8°C, January lows of −13°C, July highs of 20°C, 320 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPalmer Municipal Airport
- Station IDUSW00025331
- Location61.60°N 149.09°W
- Elevation230 ft (70 m)
- Population6,626
On October 23, the normal high in Palmer is 38°F and the normal low 25°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 25%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Palmer.
- Jan 22° 8°
- Feb 28° 13°
- Mar 34° 17°
- Apr 48° 30°
- May 59° 39°
- Jun 66° 47°
- Jul 68° 51°
- Aug 65° 48°
- Sep 56° 41°
- Oct 42° 29°
- Nov 29° 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 Palmer each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 68°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 8°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.32 in), the least in April (0.30 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 | 8°F | 15.4°F | 0.65 | 6 | <1 | 29 | 6 h 10 min |
| February | 28°F | 13°F | 20.8°F | 0.70 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 8 h 50 min |
| March | 34°F | 17°F | 25.5°F | 0.47 | 5 | <1 | 29 | 11 h 40 min |
| April | 48°F | 30°F | 38.8°F | 0.30 | 4 | <1 | 20 | 14 h 40 min |
| May | 59°F | 39°F | 49.0°F | 0.62 | 7 | <1 | 3 | 17 h 30 min |
| June | 66°F | 47°F | 56.3°F | 1.00 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 19 h 30 min |
| July | 68°F | 51°F | 59.2°F | 1.60 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 18 h 40 min |
| August | 65°F | 48°F | 56.4°F | 2.32 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 16 h |
| September | 56°F | 41°F | 48.3°F | 2.08 | 13 | <1 | 3 | 13 h |
| October | 42°F | 29°F | 35.4°F | 1.25 | 9 | <1 | 19 | 10 h 10 min |
| November | 29°F | 16°F | 22.2°F | 0.66 | 6 | <1 | 27 | 7 h 20 min |
| December | 25°F | 11°F | 18.3°F | 0.96 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 5 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 45°F | 29°F | 37.1°F | 12.61 | 98 | <1 | 187 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −5°C | −13°C | −9.2°C | 17 mm |
| February | −2°C | −10°C | −6.2°C | 18 mm |
| March | 1°C | −8°C | −3.6°C | 12 mm |
| April | 9°C | −1°C | 3.8°C | 8 mm |
| May | 15°C | 4°C | 9.4°C | 16 mm |
| June | 19°C | 8°C | 13.5°C | 25 mm |
| July | 20°C | 10°C | 15.1°C | 41 mm |
| August | 18°C | 9°C | 13.6°C | 59 mm |
| September | 13°C | 5°C | 9.1°C | 53 mm |
| October | 6°C | −2°C | 1.9°C | 32 mm |
| November | −2°C | −9°C | −5.4°C | 17 mm |
| December | −4°C | −11°C | −7.6°C | 24 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station. The nearest record that keeps one, Lazy Mountain (3 miles away), gets 83 inches of snow in a normal year; elevation and distance can change that.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00025331; 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 Palmer?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June and July. 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 USW00025331.
When is the last frost in Palmer?
In Palmer, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 6 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 25 in half of years and before September 11 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 61 year in 10 after May 18; 9 in 10 after April 24
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 251 year in 10 before September 11; 9 in 10 before October 8
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 140 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 163 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 24 in half of springs and before October 3 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Palmer in zone 5a in ZIP code 99645, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Palmer's NOAA station is in zone 5a: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (23 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 USW00025331; 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 Palmer?
In a normal year in Palmer, a 90°F day is rare, 187 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 98 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
- 187a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 95high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 98a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1997) is 88°F, on July 4, 2019; the lowest is −39°F, on February 4, 1999.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2022, with 22.43 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00025331; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00025331. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Palmer?
Over a year 64% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Palmer, 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 much heating and cooling does Palmer need?
A normal year in Palmer brings 10,147 heating degree days, 89% more than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 5 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 759 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,539 | 0 |
| February | 1,239 | 0 |
| March | 1,223 | 0 |
| April | 786 | 0 |
| May | 498 | 0 |
| June | 263 | 2 |
| July | 184 | 3 |
| August | 267 | 1 |
| September | 501 | 0 |
| October | 916 | 0 |
| November | 1,282 | 0 |
| December | 1,449 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 10,147 | 5 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00025331. 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 Palmer been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 37.7°F, 0.6°F above the 1991-2020 normal of 37.1°F. 3 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35.1°F | −2.0°F | 14.30 |
| 2022 | 39.5°F | +2.4°F | 22.43 |
| 2023 | 38.9°F | +1.8°F | 15.60 |
| 2024 | 37.7°F | +0.6°F | 13.48 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00025331. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Palmer's climate compare?
Palmer is warmer than 53 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 13. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 37.1°F is warmer than 3%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Palmer 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 Palmer 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.
- Butte, AK3,905 people · 5 mi SE
- Farm Loop, AK2,940 people · 3 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.
What do Palmer's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Palmer. This page uses Palmer Municipal Airport; the other differs by site and elevation:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Job Corps USC00506870 | 1 mi SW | 216 ft | 40.2°F | 12°F | 70°F | 15.7 | – | April 24 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Palmer's climate
What is the coldest month in Palmer?
January, with a normal high of 22°F and a normal low of 8°F. The warmest is July (68°F by day, 51°F at night).
Does it snow in Palmer?
Yes. NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for Palmer's NOAA station; the nearest record that keeps one, Lazy Mountain (3 miles away), records 83 inches of snow in a normal year.
What is the rainiest month in Palmer?
August, with 2.32 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.30 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Palmer in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Palmer in zone 5a in ZIP code 99645, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Palmer's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −18°F (23 years, 1991-2020): zone 5a.
How late can frost come in Palmer?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 6; in one year in ten it comes after May 18. Waiting until May 18 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Palmer in OctoberThis month day by day, its records and recent years
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Lazy Mountain, AK2 miles from this station, 35.4°F a year
- Ben's Farm, AK3 miles from this station, 36.9°F a year
- Matanuska Experiment Farm, AK6 miles from this station, 36.7°F a year
- North Lakes, AK8 miles from this station, 37.0°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made