Soldotna, Alaska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Soldotna's normal year runs from 5°F January nights to 66°F July afternoons, with 21.6 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 1.2°C, January lows of −15°C, July highs of 19°C, 548 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationSoldotna (5 mi SSW)
- Station IDUSC00508615
- Location60.42°N 151.13°W
- Elevation180 ft (55 m)
- Population4,553
On October 23, the normal high in Soldotna is 39°F and the normal low 22°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 46%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Soldotna.
- Jan 21° 5°
- Feb 28° 9°
- Mar 35° 12°
- Apr 46° 24°
- May 56° 32°
- Jun 62° 40°
- Jul 66° 45°
- Aug 64° 43°
- Sep 55° 37°
- Oct 42° 26°
- Nov 28° 12°
- Dec 23° 8°
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 Soldotna each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 66°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 5°F. The most precipitation falls in September (3.95 in), the least in March (0.74 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21°F | 5°F | 13.0°F | 1.42 | 10 | <1 | 31 | 6 h 30 min |
| February | 28°F | 9°F | 18.8°F | 1.30 | 9 | <1 | 28 | 9 h |
| March | 35°F | 12°F | 23.1°F | 0.74 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 11 h 40 min |
| April | 46°F | 24°F | 35.2°F | 0.83 | 9 | <1 | 25 | 14 h 30 min |
| May | 56°F | 32°F | 44.2°F | 0.85 | 11 | <1 | 16 | 17 h 10 min |
| June | 62°F | 40°F | 51.3°F | 1.32 | 12 | <1 | 4 | 19 h |
| July | 66°F | 45°F | 55.3°F | 2.03 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 18 h 20 min |
| August | 64°F | 43°F | 53.2°F | 2.99 | 17 | <1 | 3 | 15 h 50 min |
| September | 55°F | 37°F | 45.9°F | 3.95 | 21 | <1 | 10 | 13 h |
| October | 42°F | 26°F | 34.0°F | 2.74 | 17 | <1 | 22 | 10 h 20 min |
| November | 28°F | 12°F | 20.1°F | 1.76 | 12 | <1 | 29 | 7 h 30 min |
| December | 23°F | 8°F | 15.7°F | 1.65 | 12 | <1 | 31 | 5 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 44°F | 24°F | 34.1°F | 21.58 | 153 | <1 | 227 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −6°C | −15°C | −10.6°C | 36 mm |
| February | −2°C | −13°C | −7.3°C | 33 mm |
| March | 1°C | −11°C | −4.9°C | 19 mm |
| April | 8°C | −4°C | 1.8°C | 21 mm |
| May | 13°C | 0°C | 6.8°C | 22 mm |
| June | 17°C | 5°C | 10.7°C | 34 mm |
| July | 19°C | 7°C | 12.9°C | 52 mm |
| August | 18°C | 6°C | 11.8°C | 76 mm |
| September | 13°C | 3°C | 7.7°C | 100 mm |
| October | 6°C | −4°C | 1.1°C | 70 mm |
| November | −2°C | −11°C | −6.6°C | 45 mm |
| December | −5°C | −13°C | −9.1°C | 42 mm |
NOAA publishes no 1991-2020 snowfall normal for this station, and no record within 25 miles keeps one, so snow is left out here rather than estimated.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00508615; 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 Soldotna?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in July.
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 USC00508615.
When is the last frost in Soldotna?
In Soldotna, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after June 11 in half of years and after July 7 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before September 1 in half of years and before August 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
- June 111 year in 10 after July 7; 9 in 10 after May 26
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- September 11 year in 10 before August 11; 9 in 10 before September 18
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 75 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 113 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 23 in half of springs and before September 16 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Soldotna in zone 4b in ZIP code 99669, the nearest ZIP area.
Frost dates for every NOAA station in Alaska · Frost dates by ZIP code
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals (frost probabilities), station USC00508615; USDA 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map, ZIP listings: PRISM Group, Oregon State University, https://prism.oregonstate.edu, accessed October 8, 2026. 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 Soldotna?
In a normal year in Soldotna, a 90°F day is rare, 227 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 153 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
- 227a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 103high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 153a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00508615.
How sunny is Soldotna?
Over a year 66% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Soldotna, 2.6 kWh per square metre a day. March is the sunniest month (70%) and December the cloudiest (55%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 60% | 0.3 |
| February | 62% | 1.0 |
| March | 70% | 2.4 |
| April | 68% | 3.8 |
| May | 68% | 5.0 |
| June | 68% | 5.5 |
| July | 65% | 4.8 |
| August | 65% | 3.8 |
| September | 62% | 2.4 |
| October | 59% | 1.2 |
| November | 60% | 0.4 |
| December | 55% | 0.2 |
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 Soldotna need?
A normal year in Soldotna brings 11,238 heating degree days, 2.1 times the median U.S. place (5,373), and 1 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 373 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 1,612 | 0 |
| February | 1,292 | 0 |
| March | 1,300 | 0 |
| April | 896 | 0 |
| May | 645 | 0 |
| June | 411 | 0 |
| July | 303 | 0 |
| August | 368 | 0 |
| September | 573 | 0 |
| October | 963 | 0 |
| November | 1,348 | 0 |
| December | 1,528 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 11,238 | 1 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00508615. 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 Soldotna been warmer than normal lately?
2023 averaged 33.5°F, 0.6°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 34.1°F. 0 of the 2 complete years since 2021 ran warmer than the normal.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32.0°F | −2.1°F | 22.58 |
| 2023 | 33.5°F | −0.6°F | 24.56 |
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USC00508615. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Soldotna's climate compare?
Soldotna is warmer than 39 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 40. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 34.1°F is warmer than 1%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Soldotna 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 Soldotna share this climate record?
5 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.
- Kalifornsky, AK8,136 people · 4 mi NW
- Cohoe, AK1,619 people · 12 mi SW
- Ninilchik, AK1,009 people · 26 mi S
- Kasilof, AK404 people · 8 mi SW
- Clam Gulch, AK294 people · 17 mi SW
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Soldotna's climate
What is the coldest month in Soldotna?
January, with a normal high of 21°F and a normal low of 5°F. The warmest is July (66°F by day, 45°F at night).
What is the rainiest month in Soldotna?
September, with 3.95 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 0.74 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Soldotna in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Soldotna in zone 4b in ZIP code 99669, the nearest ZIP area.
How late can frost come in Soldotna?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after June 11; in one year in ten it comes after July 7. Waiting until July 7 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Sterling, AK9 miles from this station, 35.7°F a year
- Kenai, AK12 miles from this station, 35.6°F a year
- Kenai (29 mi ENE), AK31 miles from this station, 34.2°F a year
- Cooper Landing, AK40 miles from this station, 36.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made