Valdez, AK Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Temperature and precipitation from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →, plus PlainClimate's derived comfort score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Valdez's primary NOAA station, VALDEZ.
The climate verdict for Valdez
Water is the standout signal in Valdez, Alaska: 82.1 inches of precipitation in a normal year. Against that wet profile, NOAA records an annual average of 37°F. At 28/100 (below average) the climate comfort score falls in the bottom third of the station-mapped U.S. score corpus, exceeding only 0% of scores.
- 37°F
- average temperature, NOAA 1991-2020 normal
- 28/100
- comfort score, above 0% of station-mapped location scores
- 82.1"
- precipitation, annual total
- 131 days
- frost-free growing season
Valdez: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USC00509687 · Valdez, AK 37°F mean · 82.1" precip
TEMP-COLD · RANK-COOL · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-MID · COMF-LOW · LOAD-HEAT · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-COLD 37°F
- RANK-COOL #137
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Creede Wtp
- PRCP-WET 82.1"
- SWING-MID 35°F
- COMF-LOW 28/100
- LOAD-HEAT 10,267 HDD
- STN-1 USC00509687
- BOOK-FULL 6/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Creede Wtp, CO ( -0.1 °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.
- Valdez (this station) 37°F
- Cold Creede Wtp, CO 37°F
- Near Intricate Bay, AK 37°F
- Near Cooper Landing, AK 37°F
- Near Matanuska, AK 37°F
Valdez 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 · Valdez
Valdez: 5/100 · grade F
Valdez publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Valdez, not an official NOAA rating. Rankings still use Comfort Score 28/100 (separate formula). Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Frost-free season | 131 days/year | 13/100 · F |
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 205 calendar days | 11/100 · F |
| Annual temperature balance | 36.8°F · 30.7° from 67.5°F | 0/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 82.1 in · 47.1 from 35 in | 0/100 · F |
Valdez · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method · Comfort Score method.
Valdez is a continental Köppen climate: Dfc
Coldest-month mean 20.5°F and warmest-month mean 55.1°F place this station in continental, no dry season, cool summer climates (Dfc). Class Dfc is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: continental, specifically continental, no dry season, cool summer.
- Köppen code
- Dfc
- Group
- Continental
- Warmest month
- 55.1°F
- Coldest month
- 20.5°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 Valdez sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Valdez's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Cooler than 98%
- Among 6,861 stations, Valdez sits in the cooler third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 1% wettest
- Valdez's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 83%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Valdez is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
How Valdez compares across U.S. station-mapped locations
Valdez's comfort score vs. all station-mapped locations
PlainClimate composite comfort index (1–100), NOAA 1991–2020 normals
28 0th percentile score exceeds 0% 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%). This entry sits in this band.
- 30–40: 280 station-mapped locations (5%). Above this entry.
- 40–50: 1,113 station-mapped locations (18%). Above this entry.
- 50–60: 1,329 station-mapped locations (21%). Above this entry.
- 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 | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27°F (-3°C) | 15°F (-10°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 9.0" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
| February | 31°F (-1°C) | 17°F (-9°C) | 24°F (-5°C) | 7.0" | 27.8 | 0.0 |
| March | 34°F (1°C) | 19°F (-7°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 5.2" | 30.1 | 0.0 |
| April | 44°F (7°C) | 28°F (-2°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 4.5" | 20.9 | 0.0 |
| May | 53°F (12°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 45°F (7°C) | 3.4" | 3.6 | 0.0 |
| June | 60°F (16°C) | 44°F (7°C) | 52°F (11°C) | 4.5" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| July | 62°F (17°C) | 48°F (9°C) | 55°F (13°C) | 3.4" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| August | 61°F (16°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 54°F (12°C) | 7.3" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| September | 53°F (12°C) | 39°F (4°C) | 46°F (8°C) | 11.2" | 1.8 | 0.0 |
| October | 43°F (6°C) | 30°F (-1°C) | 36°F (2°C) | 9.3" | 18.2 | 0.0 |
| November | 31°F (0°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 26°F (-3°C) | 9.3" | 27.2 | 0.0 |
| December | 26°F (-3°C) | 15°F (-9°C) | 21°F (-6°C) | 8.1" | 30.8 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
Summer here tops out rather than builds: the warmest normal high is 63°F around July 28, short of 90°F on every date, while 205 dates carry a normal low at or below freezing, the coldest 13°F near January 1.
The freezing stretch
The normal low stays at or below 32°F into May 2, then returns to freezing around October 11, covering 205 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.
The widest day
May 3 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 17°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Valdez.
Where Valdez Stands Nationally
Winters bite deep and often: the normal nightly low dips to freezing or below on around 205 nights a year, placing this among the most frost-prone tenth of ranked stations.
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 82 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Valdez earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
Valdez 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 29%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Valdez has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry a 34.6°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: September averages 11.2" and May 3.4". The three wettest months together take 36% 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.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
September 22
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
May 14
50% probability date
Growing Season
131 days
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
10,267
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
1
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
July
Coldest Month
December
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside AK closest to Valdez 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 (37°F here).
- Island Park, ID 37°F · 0.0°F off
- Jackson, MT 37°F · 0.0°F off
- Babbitt, MN 37°F · 0.1°F off
- Lutsen, MN 37°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (82.1" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Darrington, WA 83.0" · 0.9" off
- Falls City, OR 81.2" · 0.9" off
- Raymond, WA 83.7" · 1.6" off
- Mapleton, OR 84.0" · 1.9" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Valdez's climate pattern fits together
heating led · wet · mid swing
Valdez's energy balance leans toward cold weather: 10,267 annual heating degree days against 1 for cooling. Its 34.6°F seasonal range still makes the monthly rows more useful than the annual average alone.
Only about 131 days are frost-free in a normal year. That short interval is consistent with the cold-season signal, but the measure does not predict the exact first or last freeze in any one year.
July and December mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar in Valdez's middle-range seasonal profile. The measured spread is 34.6°F. The annual average is 37°F. Neither the annual mean nor one extreme month represents the full calendar on its own.
Alongside its heating load, Valdez carries 82.1 inches of precipitation in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's wet range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. That distinction matters because a wet annual total can arrive as rain, snow, or a mixture at different times.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Valdez'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 Valdez, not an official NOAA class or a year-ahead forecast.
Questions about Valdez's climate
How much rain does Valdez get? ▼
How cold does Valdez get in winter? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Valdez? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Valdez's primary station: VALDEZ (USC00509687). 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 an incorporated place (GEOID 0282200). Match rule for Valdez: 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 Valdez 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.