Alaska

Noatak, Alaska Climate

NOAA 1991-2020 normals for Kivalina AP, 69.3 km from Noatak

The warmest month is July, with an average high of 56°F; the coldest is January, with an average low of -9°F. A normal year brings 9.7 in of precipitation.

Temperature through the year

The normal daily high and low and the record for every date at Buckland (PABL), since 1897. The line marks today.

Normal daily high and low temperature at Noatak through the year, in °F, with the record for each date.-100-50050100JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Normal low
  • Normal high
  • Record high
  • Record low

Normals for Sep 24

Normal high
42°F
Normal low
32°F
Record high
56°Fin 1995
Record low
13°Fin 1897
Chance of a wet day
37%
Daylight
12 h 03 min

Month by month

Averages for 1991-2020. Wet days have at least 0.01 inch of precipitation. Freeze nights have a low of 32°F or colder; degree days are on a 65°F base. Each month links to its own page.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRecord highRecord lowPrecipitationWet daysFreeze nightsHeating DDCooling DD
January7°F-9°F44°F (1901)-55°F (1934)0.28 in5.331.02,0520
February10°F-7°F40°F (1989)-52°F (1964)0.44 in5.327.91,7840
March9°F-8°F42°F (2019)-58°F (1930)0.18 in3.030.71,9870
April24°F6°F49°F (2017)-44°F (1943)0.56 in4.729.51,5060
May38°F26°F74°F (1947)-18°F (1945)0.57 in6.423.61,0220
June50°F38°F85°F (2013)20°F (1948)0.79 in6.14.96341
July56°F46°F85°F (1958)30°F (1976)1.41 in11.70.04403
August55°F44°F80°F (2021)26°F (1902)2.33 in13.00.44930
September46°F35°F69°F (1978)11°F (1897)1.52 in11.510.17310
October31°F21°F57°F (1904)-19°F (1975)0.93 in8.125.51,2230
November17°F6°F40°F (2003)-37°F (1935)0.51 in5.729.71,6080
December10°F-4°F39°F (2024)-49°F (1935)0.17 in4.131.01,9240
Year29°F16°F9.69 in8524415,4024

Precipitation

Rain and melted snow together. The chance of a wet day is the share of days with at least 0.01 inch of precipitation.

9.7 in in a normal year, most in August.

Chance of a wet day

The chance of at least 0.01 inch of precipitation on each date at Noatak, in percent.01020304050JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Chance of a wet day

Frost and the growing season

NOAA's 1991-2020 freeze probabilities for Kivalina AP. A median date has an even chance of a later freeze in spring, or an earlier one in fall.

The last spring freeze typically comes around June 10 and the first fall freeze around September 11, a growing season of about 92 days.

Median at 32°F
last June 10, first September 11
Median at 28°F
last June 1, first September 24

Frost dates, growing season and degree days

Humidity and comfort

NASA POWER reanalysis, 1991-2020, for the grid cell around Noatak.

Days with a mean dew point of 65°F or more are rare here in every month.

MonthDew pointHumidityDryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable
January-9°F94%100%0%0%0%0%0%
February-5°F94%100%0%0%0%0%0%
March-1°F93%100%0%0%0%0%0%
April15°F92%100%0%0%0%0%0%
May31°F87%100%0%0%0%0%0%
June43°F81%98%2%0%0%0%0%
July48°F82%93%7%0%0%0%0%
August44°F85%98%2%0%0%0%0%
September35°F88%100%0%0%0%0%0%
October19°F93%100%0%0%0%0%0%
November2°F96%100%0%0%0%0%0%
December-6°F95%100%0%0%0%0%0%

Comfort is judged by the day's mean dew point: dry below 55°F, comfortable to 60°F, humid to 65°F, muggy to 70°F, oppressive to 75°F, miserable above.

Clouds

Average share of the sky covered, from satellite (CERES and GEWEX SRB) by way of NASA POWER, 1991-2020.

The clearest month is March, with the sky 51 percent covered on average; the cloudiest is August, at 71 percent.

Wind

The mean wind speed over the whole day, from the MERRA-2 reanalysis by way of NASA POWER. Gusts run well above it.

The windiest month is February, averaging 14.3 mph at 10 meters (33 feet) above the ground.

Daylight and sunshine

The longest day is May 28, with 24 h 00 min of daylight; the shortest is Dec 14, with 0 h 00 min.

Hours of daylight at Noatak through the year.0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
  • Day length

Solar energy

Average daily sunshine reaching the ground on a flat surface, in kilowatt-hours per square meter, clouds included.

Sunrise and sunset calendar

How Northwest Arctic Borough is running

NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, from the nClimGrid analysis of every station, updated early each month. A rank of 1 is the highest or lowest of all years since 1895.

August 2026 in Northwest Arctic Borough: 51.5°F (+2.0 °F against 1991-2020), the 19th warmest in 102 years on record.

August 2026 in Northwest Arctic Borough: 4.56 in (+1.62 in against 1991-2020), the 12th wettest in 102 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Northwest Arctic Borough: 24.4°F (-1.8 °F against 1991-2020), the 49th warmest in 102 years on record.

January to August 2026 in Northwest Arctic Borough: 12.64 in (+2.31 in against 1991-2020), the 16th wettest in 102 years on record.

Warmest August
55.8°F in 1977
Coolest August
42.9°F in 1969
Wettest August
6.74 in in 1994
Driest August
0.78 in in 2020

Every year since 1925

Each year's average temperature in Northwest Arctic Borough against the 1991-2020 average, in °F, 1925 to 2025.-10-50+5+1019401960198020002020NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance

Alaska climate and rankings

Month pages

The weather in Noatak in each month, day by day.

What this means

A normal is the average of the thirty years 1991 to 2020, the period the World Meteorological Organization and NOAA use for comparison. It is an average, not a forecast: most days depart from it, and some by a long way.

A record is the highest or lowest value on the date in every year the station has reported, back to 1897. It rests on one station, so a neighbor a few miles away can hold different ones.

Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine come from a reanalysis: a weather model run over the past with every observation fed in, averaged over a grid cell about 50 km across. It is consistent everywhere on Earth; it smooths local detail such as a lake shore or a valley.

More for this place

Sources

Normals: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020, station USW00026642 (Kivalina AP), public domain. Records: NOAA GHCN-Daily, station USW00026616, every year on file, quality-flagged values removed. Cloud, humidity, wind and sunshine: NASA POWER (MERRA-2, CERES and GEWEX SRB), 1991-2020. The data was obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center's Prediction Of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project funded through the NASA Earth Science Division: POWER Daily API v2, accessed 2026-09-24. Sun and moon: computed with the NOAA solar equations and Meeus. Rankings: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, public domain.