Tanana, Alaska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Tanana's normal year runs from −17°F January nights to 71°F July afternoons, with 11.5 inches of precipitation and 50 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of −3.6°C, January lows of −27°C, July highs of 22°C, 291 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTanana Calhoun Mem Airport
- Station IDUSW00026529
- Location65.17°N 152.11°W
- Elevation227 ft (69 m)
- From the center2 miles
- Population233
On October 14, the normal high in Tanana is 33°F and the normal low 20°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 28%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Tanana.
- Jan -1° -17°
- Feb 8° -11°
- Mar 19° -6°
- Apr 39° 16°
- May 59° 33°
- Jun 70° 45°
- Jul 71° 49°
- Aug 64° 43°
- Sep 52° 34°
- Oct 31° 17°
- Nov 11° -4°
- Dec 2° -13°
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 Tanana each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 71°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −17°F. The most precipitation falls in August (2.68 in), the least in March (0.24 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −1°F | −17°F | -9.3°F | 0.38 | 7.7 | 5 | <1 | 31 | 4 h 50 min |
| February | 8°F | −11°F | -1.2°F | 0.44 | 8.0 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 20 min |
| March | 19°F | −6°F | 6.3°F | 0.24 | 5.4 | 4 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 30 min |
| April | 39°F | 16°F | 27.4°F | 0.30 | 2.5 | 4 | <1 | 27 | 15 h 10 min |
| May | 59°F | 33°F | 46.1°F | 0.64 | 0.3 | 7 | <1 | 14 | 18 h 40 min |
| June | 70°F | 45°F | 57.8°F | 1.48 | 0.0 | 11 | <1 | 1 | 22 h |
| July | 71°F | 49°F | 59.8°F | 1.95 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 20 h 30 min |
| August | 64°F | 43°F | 53.6°F | 2.68 | 0.0 | 15 | <1 | 2 | 16 h 50 min |
| September | 52°F | 34°F | 42.6°F | 1.68 | 0.8 | 12 | <1 | 13 | 13 h 10 min |
| October | 31°F | 17°F | 24.3°F | 0.71 | 5.0 | 8 | <1 | 28 | 9 h 50 min |
| November | 11°F | −4°F | 3.3°F | 0.56 | 10.0 | 7 | <1 | 30 | 6 h 20 min |
| December | 2°F | −13°F | -5.2°F | 0.41 | 10.3 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 3 h 40 min |
| Year (annual) | 35°F | 16°F | 25.5°F | 11.47 | 50.0 | 98 | <1 | 236 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −18°C | −27°C | −22.9°C | 10 mm | 20 cm |
| February | −13°C | −24°C | −18.4°C | 11 mm | 20 cm |
| March | −7°C | −21°C | −14.3°C | 6 mm | 14 cm |
| April | 4°C | −9°C | −2.6°C | 8 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 15°C | 1°C | 7.8°C | 16 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 21°C | 7°C | 14.3°C | 38 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 22°C | 9°C | 15.4°C | 50 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 18°C | 6°C | 12.0°C | 68 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 11°C | 1°C | 5.9°C | 43 mm | 2 cm |
| October | 0°C | −8°C | −4.3°C | 18 mm | 13 cm |
| November | −12°C | −20°C | −15.9°C | 14 mm | 25 cm |
| December | −16°C | −25°C | −20.7°C | 10 mm | 26 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00026529; 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 Tanana?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June and July. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (11).
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 USW00026529.
When is the last frost in Tanana?
In Tanana, the last spring frost (32°F) comes after May 29 in half of years and after June 16 in one year in ten; the first autumn frost comes before August 28 in half of years and before August 10 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 291 year in 10 after June 16; 9 in 10 after May 15
- First autumn frost, half of years before
- August 281 year in 10 before August 10; 9 in 10 before September 9
NOAA puts the median frost-free season at 89 days, and the season without a hard freeze (28°F) at 114 days.
A hard freeze (28°F) comes after May 16 in half of springs and before September 8 in half of autumns.
The USDA's 2023 Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Tanana in zone 1b in ZIP code 99777. By the map's own method, the average of each year's coldest night over 1991-2020, Tanana's NOAA station is in zone 1b: the coldest night of a typical year reaches −52°F (29 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 USW00026529; 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 Tanana?
In a normal year in Tanana, a 90°F day is rare, 236 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
- 236a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 169high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 98a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 19a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1902) is 94°F, on June 15, 1969; the lowest is −76°F, on January 27, 1989.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1963, with 20.96 in; the snowiest season is 1954–55, with 106.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USW00026529; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USW00026529. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Tanana?
Over a year 71% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Tanana, 2.5 kWh per square metre a day. March is the sunniest month (86%) and October the cloudiest (60%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 75% | 0.1 |
| February | 75% | 0.8 |
| March | 86% | 2.5 |
| April | 83% | 4.4 |
| May | 74% | 5.2 |
| June | 70% | 5.6 |
| July | 65% | 4.7 |
| August | 65% | 3.6 |
| September | 65% | 2.2 |
| October | 60% | 0.8 |
| November | 66% | 0.2 |
| December | 78% | 0.0 |
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 Tanana need?
A normal year in Tanana brings 14,408 heating degree days, 2.7 times the median U.S. place (5,373), and 27 cooling degree days, 97% fewer than the median (908). Ten months need 300 or more heating degree days, a monthly mean of about 55°F or colder. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 742 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 2,303 | 0 |
| February | 1,854 | 0 |
| March | 1,819 | 0 |
| April | 1,127 | 0 |
| May | 585 | 0 |
| June | 229 | 11 |
| July | 175 | 14 |
| August | 357 | 1 |
| September | 671 | 0 |
| October | 1,260 | 0 |
| November | 1,852 | 0 |
| December | 2,178 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 14,408 | 27 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USW00026529. 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 Tanana been warmer than normal lately?
2021 averaged 24.6°F, 0.9°F below the 1991-2020 normal of 25.5°F.
| Year | Mean | Against normal | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24.6°F | −0.9°F | 9.16 | 91.6 |
Over 80 complete years from 1919 to 2021, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 4.0°F per century (+0.22°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: observed years: ACIS, station USW00026529; trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Tanana's climate compare?
Tanana is warmer than 13 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 7. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 25.5°F is warmer than 0%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Tanana is Dwc: continental, dry-winter, 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.
Questions about Tanana's climate
What is the coldest month in Tanana?
January, with a normal high of −1°F and a normal low of −17°F. The warmest is July (71°F by day, 49°F at night).
Does it snow in Tanana?
Yes: 50 inches in a normal year, falling on 53 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in December (10.3 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Tanana?
August, with 2.68 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is March with 0.24 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Tanana in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Tanana in zone 1b in ZIP code 99777. By the same method at Tanana's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches −52°F (29 years, 1991-2020): zone 1b.
How late can frost come in Tanana?
In half of years the last 32°F night comes after May 29; in one year in ten it comes after June 16. Waiting until June 16 leaves about a one-in-ten chance of a later frost.
Nearby and next
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Manley Hot Springs (15 mi NE), AK55 miles from this station, 24.7°F a year
- Ruby (44 mi ESE), AK75 miles from this station, 26.3°F a year
- Minchumina, AK88 miles from this station, 28.0°F a year
- Nenana, AK99 miles from this station, 30.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made