Tonsina, Alaska climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Tonsina's normal year runs from −9°F January nights to 70°F July afternoons, with 13.3 inches of precipitation and 72 inches of snow a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of −2.4°C, January lows of −23°C, July highs of 21°C, 337 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationTonsina
- Station IDUSC00509385
- Location61.65°N 145.17°W
- Elevation1,579 ft (481 m)
- Population (census place)41
On October 23, the normal high in Tonsina is 30°F and the normal low 13°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 Tonsina.
- Jan 5° -9°
- Feb 17° -5°
- Mar 29° -1°
- Apr 45° 19°
- May 57° 31°
- Jun 67° 40°
- Jul 70° 45°
- Aug 65° 40°
- Sep 54° 31°
- Oct 36° 17°
- Nov 15° 0°
- Dec 7° -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 Tonsina each month?
July is the warmest month, with normal highs of 70°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of −9°F. The most precipitation falls in July (1.79 in), the least in April (0.17 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5°F | −9°F | -2.3°F | 1.06 | 9.3 | 6 | <1 | 31 | 6 h 10 min |
| February | 17°F | −5°F | 6.0°F | 1.01 | 12.4 | 6 | <1 | 28 | 8 h 50 min |
| March | 29°F | −1°F | 14.0°F | 0.45 | 6.0 | 3 | <1 | 31 | 11 h 40 min |
| April | 45°F | 19°F | 31.6°F | 0.17 | 2.2 | 2 | <1 | 29 | 14 h 40 min |
| May | 57°F | 31°F | 43.9°F | 0.48 | 0.4 | 4 | <1 | 21 | 17 h 30 min |
| June | 67°F | 40°F | 53.2°F | 1.42 | 0.0 | 8 | <1 | 5 | 19 h 30 min |
| July | 70°F | 45°F | 57.1°F | 1.79 | 0.0 | 10 | <1 | 1 | 18 h 40 min |
| August | 65°F | 40°F | 52.4°F | 1.76 | 0.0 | 12 | <1 | 5 | 16 h |
| September | 54°F | 31°F | 42.3°F | 1.50 | 1.6 | 10 | <1 | 18 | 13 h |
| October | 36°F | 17°F | 26.5°F | 1.04 | 9.1 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 10 h 10 min |
| November | 15°F | 0°F | 7.4°F | 1.27 | 17.0 | 8 | <1 | 30 | 7 h 20 min |
| December | 7°F | −8°F | -0.5°F | 1.30 | 13.8 | 7 | <1 | 31 | 5 h 20 min |
| Year (annual) | 39°F | 17°F | 27.6°F | 13.25 | 71.8 | 84 | <1 | 259 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −15°C | −23°C | −19.1°C | 27 mm | 24 cm |
| February | −8°C | −21°C | −14.4°C | 26 mm | 31 cm |
| March | −2°C | −18°C | −10.0°C | 11 mm | 15 cm |
| April | 7°C | −7°C | −0.2°C | 4 mm | 6 cm |
| May | 14°C | −1°C | 6.6°C | 12 mm | 1 cm |
| June | 19°C | 4°C | 11.8°C | 36 mm | 0 cm |
| July | 21°C | 7°C | 13.9°C | 45 mm | 0 cm |
| August | 18°C | 4°C | 11.3°C | 45 mm | 0 cm |
| September | 12°C | −1°C | 5.7°C | 38 mm | 4 cm |
| October | 2°C | −8°C | −3.1°C | 26 mm | 23 cm |
| November | −10°C | −18°C | −13.7°C | 32 mm | 43 cm |
| December | −14°C | −22°C | −18.1°C | 33 mm | 35 cm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00509385; 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 Tonsina?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in June and July. Of those, June has the fewest days with rain (8).
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 USC00509385.
How hot and how cold does it get in Tonsina?
In a normal year in Tonsina, a 90°F day is rare, 259 nights fall to 32°F or colder and 84 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
- 259a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- 144high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 84a normal year
- Days with 1 inch of snow or more
- 25a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1907) is 90°F, on June 15, 1969; the lowest is −60°F, on January 5, 1975.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1968, with 16.90 in; the snowiest season is 1991–92, with 112.5 inches.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00509385; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00509385. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Tonsina?
Over a year 64% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Tonsina, 2.6 kWh per square metre a day. April is the sunniest month (74%) and November the cloudiest (51%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 53% | 0.3 |
| February | 59% | 0.9 |
| March | 71% | 2.5 |
| April | 74% | 4.3 |
| May | 67% | 5.0 |
| June | 63% | 5.2 |
| July | 64% | 4.8 |
| August | 63% | 3.8 |
| September | 60% | 2.4 |
| October | 52% | 1.0 |
| November | 51% | 0.4 |
| December | 55% | 0.1 |
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 Tonsina need?
A normal year in Tonsina brings 13,607 heating degree days, 2.5 times the median U.S. place (5,373), and 6 cooling degree days, 99% 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 476 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 2,086 | 0 |
| February | 1,652 | 0 |
| March | 1,581 | 0 |
| April | 1,004 | 0 |
| May | 653 | 0 |
| June | 357 | 2 |
| July | 249 | 4 |
| August | 391 | 1 |
| September | 683 | 0 |
| October | 1,194 | 0 |
| November | 1,728 | 0 |
| December | 2,031 | 0 |
| Year (annual) | 13,607 | 6 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00509385. 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.
How does Tonsina's climate compare?
Tonsina is warmer than 22 of the other 84 places with their own NOAA record in Alaska, and wetter than 16. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 27.6°F is warmer than 1%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Tonsina 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 Tonsina share this climate record?
2 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.
- Kenny Lake, AK232 people · 12 mi E
- Willow Creek, AK126 people · 12 mi N
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 Tonsina's climate
What is the coldest month in Tonsina?
January, with a normal high of 5°F and a normal low of −9°F. The warmest is July (70°F by day, 45°F at night).
Does it snow in Tonsina?
Yes: 72 inches in a normal year, falling on 35 days with 0.1 inch or more, the most in November (17.0 inches).
What is the rainiest month in Tonsina?
July, with 1.79 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is April with 0.17 in.
Nearby and next
- Alaska climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Silver Lake, AK34 miles from this station, 29.1°F a year
- Gennallen Kcam, AK34 miles from this station, 27.1°F a year
- Gulkana, AK36 miles from this station, 28.3°F a year
- Valdez, AK53 miles from this station, 39.7°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made