Sitka, AK Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Sitka's primary NOAA station, SITKA 1 NE.
The climate verdict for Sitka
Water is the standout signal in Sitka, Alaska: 102.1 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 43°F. At 28/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 0% of scores.
- 43°F
- yearly average temperature, NOAA normal
- 28/100
- comfort score, above 0% of station-mapped location scores
- 102.1"
- precipitation, annual total
- 168 days
- frost-free days per growing season
Sitka: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00025379 · Sitka, AK 43°F mean · 102.1" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-NARROW · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 43°F
- RANK-COOL #892
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Tahoma
- PRCP-WET 102.1"
- SWING-NARROW 23°F
- COMF-LOW 28/100
- LOAD-HEAT 7,888 HDD
- STN-1 USW00025379
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Tahoma, CA (+ 0 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every AK station list.
- Hot Tres Piedras, NM 44°F
- Near Juneau Dwtn, AK 44°F
- Sitka (this station) 43°F
- Near Tahoma, CA 43°F
- Near Bright Angel Ra…, AZ 43°F
Sitka sits in Alaska, the #1 coldest U.S. state at 33.5°F statewide annual average - see all 50 coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Sitka
Sitka: 28/100 · grade F
Sitka publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Sitka, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 28/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 137 calendar days | 55/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 168 days/year | 40/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 43.3°F · 24.2° from 67.5°F | 14/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 102.1 in · 67.1 from 35 in | 0/100 · F |
Sitka · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Sitka is a temperate Köppen climate: Cfb
Coldest-month mean 33.1°F and warmest-month mean 55.7°F place this station in temperate, no dry season, warm summer climates (Cfb). Class Cfb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: temperate, specifically temperate, no dry season, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Cfb
- Group
- Temperate
- Warmest month
- 55.7°F
- Coldest month
- 33.1°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · heating-led station
Where Sitka sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Sitka's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 87%
- Among 6,861 stations, Sitka sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 1% wettest
- Sitka's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 95%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Sitka is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Sitka compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Sitka's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
28 0th percentile score exceeds 0% of 6,189 station-mapped location scores
- 0–10: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 10–20: 0 station-mapped locations (0%). Below this entry.
- 20–30: 96 station-mapped locations (2%). This entry sits in this band.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Above this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Above this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 60–70: 1,236 station-mapped locations (20%). Above this entry.
- 70–80: 650 station-mapped locations (11%). Above this entry.
- 80–90: 921 station-mapped locations (15%). Above this entry.
- 90–100: 564 station-mapped locations (9%). Above this entry.
Source NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, PlainClimate comfort index · 1991–2020
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37°F (3°C) | 29°F (-2°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 9.6" | 18.7 | 0.0 |
| February | 39°F (4°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 6.5" | 20.7 | 0.0 |
| March | 42°F (5°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 6.4" | 23.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 49°F (9°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 41°F (5°C) | 5.0" | 12.7 | 0.0 |
| May | 54°F (12°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 47°F (8°C) | 4.0" | 2.2 | 0.0 |
| June | 58°F (15°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 3.6" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| July | 60°F (16°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 5.5" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| August | 62°F (17°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 9.6" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| September | 57°F (14°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 13.8" | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| October | 49°F (10°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 14.8" | 3.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 42°F (5°C) | 33°F (0°C) | 37°F (3°C) | 12.1" | 15.3 | 0.0 |
| December | 38°F (3°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 11.0" | 18.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 62°F around August 6, short of 90°F on every date, while 137 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 29°F near January 7.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 4, then returns to freezing around November 20, covering 137 dates in all.
Derived from the normal daily minimum. This is a different measure from the 50%-probability frost dates shown elsewhere on this page, which come from NOAA’s frost product.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is October 16, when 78% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is May 20 at 56%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 244 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 30 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 15°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Sitka.
Where Sitka Stands Nationally
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 102 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 15°F.
Sitka earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
22.8 days with precipitation
17.5 days with precipitation
18.7 days with precipitation
18.7 days with precipitation
16.9 days with precipitation
19.4 days with precipitation
19.0 days with precipitation
20.5 days with precipitation
21.2 days with precipitation
23.9 days with precipitation
22.4 days with precipitation
22.6 days with precipitation
Sitka spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 18% of the annual total and December through February 27%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Sitka has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry an unusually narrow 22.6°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: October averages 14.8" and June 3.6". The three wettest months together take 40% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Sitka, it arrives in quantity
102.1" of precipitation falls across only about 244 wet days here, averaging 0.42 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 244 a year, 67% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.42 inches
- Most wet days
- October, about 24
- Fewest wet days
- May, about 17
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 18
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 3
50% probability date
Growing Season
168 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
7,888
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
0
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
August
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AK closest to Sitka on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (43°F here).
- Bloomer, WI 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Brookings, SD 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Buffalo, SD 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Cascade, ID 43°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (102.1" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Baring, WA 109.9" · 7.8" off
- Naselle, WA 112.2" · 10.1" off
- Paauilo, HI 90.4" · 11.7" off
- Tillamook, OR 89.8" · 12.2" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Sitka's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · low swing
Heating is the larger measured load in Sitka, at 7,888 degree days versus 0 for cooling. Unlike a strongly continental record, however, its 22.6°F month-to-month range is compact; persistent cool-season demand matters more than a dramatic summer-to-winter reversal.
Sitka's frost-free season lasts about 168 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
Sitka's 22.6°F seasonal spread is compact even though precipitation is abundant. August and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar. The annual average is 43°F. Temperature is relatively steady; the monthly rows show how rain and snow observations vary across the calendar.
Alongside its heating load, Sitka carries 102.1 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Sitka's primary station, so the winter figures are a thirty-year average and not a floor: a single hard season can run well below them. Treat each band as a descriptive range for Sitka, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Sitka's climate
How much rain does Sitka get? ▼
How cold does Sitka get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Sitka? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Sitka's primary station: SITKA 1 NE (USW00025379). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Sitka; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Sitka comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.