Pelican, Alaska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Pelican's normal year runs from 28°F January nights to 62°F August afternoons, with 164.6 inches of precipitation and 112 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 5.9°C, January lows of −2°C, August highs of 16°C, 4,180 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationPelican
- Station IDUSC00507141
- Location57.96°N 136.22°W
- Elevation12 ft (4 m)
- Population91
On October 23, the normal high in Pelican is 46°F and the normal low 37°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 68%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Pelican.
- Jan 35° 28°
- Feb 38° 28°
- Mar 40° 29°
- Apr 48° 33°
- May 54° 39°
- Jun 60° 45°
- Jul 60° 50°
- Aug 62° 50°
- Sep 57° 46°
- Oct 48° 39°
- Nov 40° 32°
- Dec 36° 30°
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 Pelican each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 62°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 28°F. The most precipitation falls in October (25.90 in), the least in June (4.91 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35°F | 28°F | 31.4°F | 15.81 | 26.4 | 21 | <1 | 22 | 7 h 10 min |
| February | 38°F | 28°F | 32.8°F | 11.56 | 24.4 | 17 | <1 | 20 | 9 h 20 min |
| March | 40°F | 29°F | 34.4°F | 12.12 | 21.4 | 16 | <1 | 23 | 11 h 40 min |
| April | 48°F | 33°F | 40.5°F | 8.94 | 3.6 | 16 | <1 | 13 | 14 h 20 min |
| May | 54°F | 39°F | 46.7°F | 6.45 | 0.1 | 13 | <1 | 3 | 16 h 40 min |
| June | 60°F | 45°F | 52.4°F | 4.91 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 18 h 10 min |
| July | 60°F | 50°F | 55.1°F | 7.00 | 0.0 | 16 | <1 | <1 | 17 h 30 min |
| August | 62°F | 50°F | 55.8°F | 12.06 | 0.0 | 18 | <1 | <1 | 15 h 30 min |
| September | 57°F | 46°F | 51.2°F | 21.67 | 0.0 | 20 | <1 | <1 | 13 h |
| October | 48°F | 39°F | 43.3°F | 25.90 | 1.0 | 21 | <1 | 5 | 10 h 30 min |
| November | 40°F | 32°F | 36.0°F | 19.81 | 15.4 | 20 | <1 | 16 | 8 h |
| December | 36°F | 30°F | 32.8°F | 18.33 | 19.4 | 21 | <1 | 19 | 6 h 30 min |
| Year (annual) | 48°F | 37°F | 42.7°F | 164.56 | 111.7 | 212 | <1 | 120 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2°C | −2°C | −0.3°C | 402 mm | 67 cm |
| February | 3°C | −2°C | 0.4°C | 294 mm | 62 cm |
| March | 4°C | −2°C | 1.3°C | 308 mm | 54 cm |
| April | 9°C | 1°C | 4.7°C | 227 mm | 9 cm |
| May | 12°C | 4°C | 8.2°C | 164 mm | 0 cm |
| June | 15°C | 7°C | 11.3°C | 125 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 16°C | 10°C | 12.8°C | 178 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 16°C | 10°C | 13.2°C | 306 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 14°C | 8°C | 10.7°C | 550 mm | 0 cm |
| October | 9°C | 4°C | 6.3°C | 658 mm | 3 cm |
| November | 4°C | 0°C | 2.2°C | 503 mm | 39 cm |
| December | 2°C | −1°C | 0.4°C | 466 mm | 49 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00507141; 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 Pelican?
No month's normal high reaches 65°F in Pelican: the warmest is August at 62°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 USC00507141.
When is the last frost in Pelican?
In Pelican, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 4 in half of years and after May 18 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before October 19 in half of years and before October 4 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 41 year in 10 after May 18; 9 in 10 after April 19
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- October 191 year in 10 before October 4; 9 in 10 before November 4
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 167 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 204 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after April 12 in half of springs and before November 6 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Pelican in zone 7a in ZIP code 99832, the nearest ZIP area. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Pelican's NOAA station is in zone 7b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches 8°F (17 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 USC00507141; 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 Pelican?
In a normal year in Pelican, a 90°F day is rare, 120 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 212 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
- 120a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 24high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 212a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 33a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1967) is 89°F, on August 17, 2004; the lowest is −3°F, on January 14, 1971.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 2015, with 205.43 in; the snowiest season is 2008–09, with 238.9 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00507141; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00507141. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Pelican?
Over a year 58% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Pelican, 2.4 kWh per square metre a day. April is the sunniest month (64%) and December the cloudiest (48%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 49% | 0.4 |
| February | 57% | 1.1 |
| March | 62% | 2.3 |
| April | 64% | 3.7 |
| May | 61% | 4.5 |
| June | 59% | 4.8 |
| July | 53% | 4.0 |
| August | 56% | 3.4 |
| September | 59% | 2.4 |
| October | 55% | 1.3 |
| November | 52% | 0.5 |
| December | 48% | 0.3 |
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 Pelican need?
A normal year in Pelican brings 8,116 heating degree days, 51% 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 524 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,040 | 0 |
| February | 903 | 0 |
| March | 949 | 0 |
| April | 735 | 0 |
| May | 566 | 0 |
| June | 378 | 0 |
| July | 307 | 0 |
| August | 285 | 1 |
| September | 416 | 0 |
| October | 671 | 0 |
| November | 870 | 0 |
| December | 997 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 8,116 | 1 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00507141. 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 Pelican been warmer than normal lately?
2024 averaged 42.6°F, 0.1°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 42.7°F. 2 of the 4 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41.4°F | −1.3°F | 155.86 | 175.4 |
| 2022 | 42.9°F | +0.2°F | 184.33 | 89.5 |
| 2023 | 43.6°F | +0.9°F | 179.67 | 113.6 |
| 2024 | 42.6°F | −0.1°F | 146.93 | 101.8 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00507141. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Pelican's climate compare?
Pelican is warmer than 70 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 72. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 42.7°F is warmer than 11%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Pelican 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.
Questions about Pelican's climate
What is the coldest month in Pelican?
January, with a normal high of 35°F and a normal low of 28°F. The warmest is August (62°F by day, 50°F at night).
Does it snow in Pelican?
Yes: 112 inches in a normal year, falling on 36 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in January (26.4 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Pelican?
October, with 25.90 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 4.91 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Pelican in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Pelican in zone 7a in ZIP code 99832, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Pelican's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 8°F (17 years, 1991-2020): zone 7b.
How late can frost come in Pelican?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 4; 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
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Elfin Cove, AK17 miles from this station, 42.8°F a year
- Hoonah, AK31 miles from this station, 43.1°F a year
- Glacier Bay, AK37 miles from this station, 40.9°F a year
- Gustavus, AK38 miles from this station, 40.6°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made