Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), 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 Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)'s primary NOAA station, UTQIAGVIK FORMERLY BARROW 4 EN.
The climate verdict for Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)
Dryness leads the climate profile for Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska, with 6.2 inches of precipitation a year. NOAA records an annual average of 13°F. July is the warmest month at 40°F and February the coldest at -13°F.
- 13°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 6.2"
- precipitation, annual total
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow): NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00027516 · Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), AK 13°F mean · 6.2" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-ARID · SWING-WIDE · COMF-UNK · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 13°F
- RANK-COOL #1
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Barrow Post Rog…
- PRCP-ARID 6.2"
- SWING-WIDE 53°F
- COMF-UNK Comfort n/a
- LOAD-HEAT 19,026 HDD
- STN-1 USW00027516
- BOOK-FULL 5/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Barrow Post Rogers, AK (+ 1 °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 Toolik Lake, AK 19°F
- Near Wainwright, AK 15°F
- Near Barrow Post Rog…, AK 14°F
- Near Alpine, AK 14°F
- Utqiagvik (form… (this station) 13°F
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) 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 · Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow): 1/100 · grade F
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) publishes 3 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 3 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), not an official NOAA rating. Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Precipitation balance | 6.2 in · 28.8 from 35 in | 4/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 12.7°F · 54.8° from 67.5°F | 0/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 286 calendar days | 0/100 · F |
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method .
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) falls in the polar Köppen band: ET
The warmest month stays below 10°C: tundra class (ET). Class ET is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: polar, specifically tundra.
- Köppen code
- ET
- Group
- Polar
- Warmest month
- 40.3°F
- Coldest month
- -12.9°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 Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)'s primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 100%
- Among 6,861 stations, Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 99%
- Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)'s annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Wider than 89%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) is large versus 6,861 complete station-years.
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | -6°F (-21°C) | -19°F (-28°C) | -13°F (-25°C) | 0.3" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| February | -6°F (-21°C) | -20°F (-29°C) | -13°F (-25°C) | 0.3" | 28.0 | 0.0 |
| March | -5°F (-21°C) | -19°F (-28°C) | -12°F (-24°C) | 0.3" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 10°F (-12°C) | -4°F (-20°C) | 3°F (-16°C) | 0.3" | 30.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 26°F (-4°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 0.4" | 30.7 | 0.0 |
| June | 39°F (4°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 34°F (1°C) | 0.4" | 22.1 | 0.0 |
| July | 46°F (8°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 40°F (5°C) | 1.0" | 8.6 | 0.0 |
| August | 43°F (6°C) | 35°F (2°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 1.1" | 7.7 | 0.0 |
| September | 37°F (3°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 33°F (1°C) | 0.8" | 18.2 | 0.0 |
| October | 25°F (-4°C) | 17°F (-8°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 0.6" | 30.5 | 0.0 |
| November | 11°F (-12°C) | -1°F (-18°C) | 5°F (-15°C) | 0.4" | 30.0 | 0.0 |
| December | -1°F (-18°C) | -13°F (-25°C) | -7°F (-22°C) | 0.5" | 31.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 46°F around July 14, short of 90°F on every date, while 286 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest -20°F near March 3.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into June 21, then returns to freezing around September 10, covering 286 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 17, when 52% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is June 22 at 25%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 129 wet dates a year.
The widest day
April 7 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 Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow).
Where Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 286 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
Aridity defines the water calendar: about 6 inches in a normal year lands this among the driest tenth of ranked stations.
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
8.8 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
9.9 days with precipitation
9.4 days with precipitation
12.2 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
10.1 days with precipitation
10.1 days with precipitation
12.7 days with precipitation
16.4 days with precipitation
12.7 days with precipitation
10.6 days with precipitation
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) runs a summer-peaked wet season
40% of Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)'s yearly precipitation falls in June, July and August alone, against the 25% an evenly spread year would give those three months. The wettest month is August at 1.1", on a wide 53.2°F gap between its warmest and coldest month. Warm-season convection and, across the Southwest, the North American monsoon produce this shape: rain arrives in short heavy bursts during the hottest part of the year rather than as long cool-season soaking.
- Wettest three months: August, July, September, taking 46% of the annual total between them.
- Driest month: January at 0.3".
- Winter share: 16% falls in December, January and February.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A summer-peaked label means the June-August share reaches 35%; it describes timing across an average year, not any single season, and says nothing about how heavy an individual storm can be.
Rain reaches Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) in small, frequent amounts
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) records about 129 days with measurable precipitation a year and 6.2" in total, which works out to roughly 0.05 inches on an average wet day. Precipitation on 35% 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: October, about 16 of them.
- Fewest: June, about 8.
- Average depth per wet day: 0.05 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
N/A
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
N/A
50% probability date
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
19,026
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
0
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
February
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AK closest to Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) 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 (13°F here).
- Cooke City, MT 34°F · 21.5°F off
- Crested Butte, CO 34°F · 21.5°F off
- Silver Gate, MT 34°F · 21.6°F off
- Stanley, ID 34°F · 21.7°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (6.2" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Hanksville, UT 6.2" · 0.0" off
- Yucca Valley, CA 6.3" · 0.1" off
- Beatty, NV 6.3" · 0.1" off
- Tuba City, AZ 6.3" · 0.1" off
Scarce-water calendar
Where Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)'s limited precipitation lands
heating led · dry · mid swing
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)'s energy balance leans toward cold weather: 19,026 annual heating degree days against 0 for cooling. Its 53.2°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
A frost-free growing-season length is not available for Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow). That missing field is kept separate from the observed temperature and precipitation record rather than filled from a regional estimate.
July and February mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)'s middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 53.2°F. The annual average is 13°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)'s cold-season load does not imply a wet climate. Annual precipitation is 6.2 inches, which places the station in PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The snowfall and rainfall fields should be read separately rather than inferred from temperature.
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) wettest normal
August
August concentrates the scarce annual total (6.2 inches).
Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) driest normal
January
January is typically driest; arid stations are defined by when water is absent, not by a four-season grid.
Questions about Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)'s climate
How dry is Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)? ▼
How cold does Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow)'s primary station: UTQIAGVIK FORMERLY BARROW 4 EN (USW00027516). 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 Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow); 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 Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) 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.