Weather Overall
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7/2/2008
Greetings! I have lived in Anchorage for over 20 years. Alaska is generally known for it's winter weather, but we do get some fine conditions in the summer. Today for example, 2 July 2008, it is almost cloudless, near 70 degrees F, and absolutely beautiful. The summer this year has been a bit cooler than usual with highs in the mid to low 60s, and lows in the 40s and 50s. I always say that sunny and 70 is a "shorts and T-shirt" day in Anchorage. We have been short on those days this year. You can see Mt McKinley from my office near the Anchorage International Airport. (That's over 100 miles away!!) On the longest summer days around 21 June, the sun doesn't really go down, and the late evening is like twilight. That's why they call this the Land of the Midnight Sun!
With that said, we do get plenty of winter also. Snow usually shows up in Anchorage about mid Oct or after Nov 1st, and lasts until about mid April. Highs in the winter are usually in the mid teens to mid 20s, with occasional cold snaps down to -20 F or lower, and the occasional warm-up to above freezing. Most of our snow is straight up and down, not drifted, and we can get small amounts up to several feet at a time. Season totals vary from year to year, usually about 4-8 ft, but we get much less than Valdez Ak, (measured in 10s of feet!) and more than places like Juneau Ak, (more rainy and icy in the winter). On the shortest winter days (mid Nov to Mid Feb) the sun comes up about 10:30 AM and is heading down about 3:30 PM. The trick to surviving the darkness and winter in Anchorage is to get out and be active. Ski, skate, sled, snowshoe, walk the dog...just get out of the house or work, and don't let the dark days get to you.
Mark | Anchorage, AK