Skagway, AK Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Average temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, with a derived climate comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Skagway's primary NOAA station, SKAGWAY AP - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Skagway
Skagway, Alaska has a mixed annual climate rather than one dominant extreme. Its NOAA normal shows an annual average of 43°F. At 52/100 (moderate) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 24% of scores.
- 43°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 52/100
- comfort score, above 24% of station-mapped location scores
- 25.2"
- precipitation, annual total
- 179 days
- growing season, frost-free days
Skagway: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00025335 · Skagway, AK 43°F mean · 25.2" precip
TEMP-COOL · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-MID · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COOL 43°F
- RANK-COOL #755
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Pelican
- PRCP-MID 25.2"
- SWING-MID 32°F
- COMF-LOW 52/100
- LOAD-HEAT 8,113 HDD
- STN-MULTI USW00025335
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Pelican, AK (+ 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.
- Skagway (this station) 43°F
- Cold Cordova Wwtp, AK 43°F
- Hot Westcliffe, CO 43°F
- Near Pelican, AK 43°F
- Near Meacham, OR 43°F
Skagway 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 · Skagway
Skagway: 38/100 · grade F
Skagway publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Skagway, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 52/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 25.2 in · 9.8 from 35 in | 65/100 · C |
| Frost-free season | 179 days/year | 49/100 · D |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 152 calendar days | 45/100 · D |
| Annual temperature balance | 42.7°F · 24.8° from 67.5°F | 11/100 · F |
Skagway · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Skagway is a continental Köppen climate: Dsb
Coldest-month mean 26.5°F and warmest-month mean 58.3°F place this station in continental, dry-summer, warm summer climates (Dsb). Class Dsb is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, dry-summer, warm summer.
- Köppen code
- Dsb
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 58.3°F
- Coldest month
- 26.5°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 Skagway sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Skagway's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 89%
- Among 6,861 stations, Skagway sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- 34th percentile wetness
- Neither arid nor torrential versus 6,352 station totals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 88%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Skagway is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Skagway compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Skagway's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
52 24th percentile score exceeds 24% 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%). Below this entry.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Below this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Below this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). This entry sits in this band.
- 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 | Snow | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31°F (-1°C) | 22°F (-5°C) | 27°F (-3°C) | 2.2" | N/A | 24.4 | 0.0 |
| February | 35°F (2°C) | 25°F (-4°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 1.5" | N/A | 21.5 | 0.0 |
| March | 39°F (4°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 1.5" | N/A | 22.8 | 0.0 |
| April | 49°F (10°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 42°F (6°C) | 1.2" | N/A | 9.7 | 0.0 |
| May | 58°F (15°C) | 43°F (6°C) | 50°F (10°C) | 1.1" | N/A | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| June | 63°F (17°C) | 49°F (10°C) | 56°F (13°C) | 1.2" | N/A | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| July | 65°F (18°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 58°F (15°C) | 1.4" | N/A | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| August | 63°F (17°C) | 51°F (11°C) | 57°F (14°C) | 2.4" | N/A | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| September | 57°F (14°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 3.9" | N/A | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| October | 48°F (9°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 44°F (6°C) | 3.6" | N/A | 4.7 | 0.0 |
| November | 38°F (3°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 2.5" | N/A | 17.6 | 0.0 |
| December | 34°F (1°C) | 26°F (-4°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 2.8" | N/A | 23.9 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 65°F around July 26, short of 90°F on every date, while 152 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 22°F near January 13.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into April 4, then returns to freezing around November 5, covering 152 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 September 7, when 58% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is May 7 at 32%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 152 wet dates a year.
The widest day
May 11 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 16°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Skagway.
Where Skagway Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 16°F.
Skagway earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall and snowfall
12.9 days with precipitation
9.8 days with precipitation
10.7 days with precipitation
10.7 days with precipitation
9.4 days with precipitation
10.4 days with precipitation
11.0 days with precipitation
14.6 days with precipitation
17.4 days with precipitation
17.0 days with precipitation
13.5 days with precipitation
13.7 days with precipitation
Skagway spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 19% of the annual total and December through February 25%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Skagway has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 31.8°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: September averages 3.9" and May 1.1". The three wettest months together take 41% 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.
Rain reaches Skagway in small, frequent amounts
Skagway records about 151 days with measurable precipitation a year and 25.2" in total, which works out to roughly 0.17 inches on an average wet day. Precipitation on 41% of all days, arriving that lightly, is the damp many-grey-days pattern rather than the storm-driven one.
Places in this band read as wetter than their annual totals suggest, because what people notice is the number of overcast days, not the depth in the gauge.
- Most wet days: September, about 17 of them.
- Fewest: May, about 9.
- Average depth per wet day: 0.17 inches.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year and say nothing about the heaviest single storm on record.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
October 17
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
April 21
50% probability date
Growing Season
179 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
8,113
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
8
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
January
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AK closest to Skagway 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).
- Danbury, WI 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Ennis, MT 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Holcombe, WI 43°F · 0.0°F off
- Idaho Falls, ID 43°F · 0.0°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (25.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Brookings, SD 25.2" · 0.0" off
- Freer, TX 25.1" · 0.0" off
- Wilmore, KS 25.2" · 0.0" off
- Fort Supply, OK 25.2" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Skagway's climate pattern fits together
heating led · moderate · mid swing
Skagway's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 8,113 annual heating degree days against 8 for cooling. Its 31.8°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Skagway's frost-free season lasts about 179 days, a middle-length window whose endpoints matter more than the annual average. It describes freeze probability, not year-specific planting conditions.
July and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Skagway's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 31.8°F. The annual average is 43°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Skagway's 25.2 inches of annual precipitation falls in PlainClimate's middle band, so “wet” or “dry” is not the leading description. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Temperature balance and the calendar distribution carry more information than the annual moisture label alone.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Skagway'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 Skagway, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Skagway's climate
How much rain does Skagway get? ▼
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Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Skagway's primary station: SKAGWAY AP (USW00025335). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Skagway area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as a census-designated place (GEOID 0270760), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Skagway: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Skagway 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.