“Cold and snowy” isn’t exactly unusual weather in Alaska, but spring 2026 was very cold and very snowy, even by Alaska standards. Before we fully transition into meteorological summer (June, July, August), spring 2026 warrants a recap.
Anchorage: Coldest spring in >50 years
In Juneau and Anchorage, meteorological spring (March, April, May) hasn’t been as cold as in 2026 since the 1970s. In Fairbanks the spring season of 2013 was similarly cold as 2026 with a temperature deviation compared to the 1991-2020 normal of about -8°F. In Utqiaġvik, this past spring was the first slightly cooler than average spring since 2013. However, temperature deviations on the North Slope were less pronounced than in other parts of the state.
March brought a deep and prolonged cold spell for almost all of Alaska. In Fairbanks, every day from February 24 until April 7 was colder than the 1991-2020 normal. Anchorage and Juneau had similarly persistent cool weather. April and May have also been mostly cooler than average, but with far less pronounced temperature deviations than during the deep cold in March.
Record breaking March snow in SE Alaska, late season snow in the Interior
Juneau had their snowiest March on record with a total snowfall sum of 76.6’’ at the Juneau International Airport. This is more than 600% of the 1991-2020 normal and came on the heels of an exceptional winter. The 2025-26 season set a record for total snowfall at Juneau Airport with 208.6’’ between November 1st and March 31st. (See our monthly reports for December and January for more on this winter’s record breaking snow in Juneau.)
March snowfall in Anchorage was slightly below the 1991-2020 normal with 8.3’’ (75% of normal). However, snow depth was still considerably above average at the Anchorage Airport after a snowy winter. Snowfall in the Interior was below average in March with 50% of normal (3.3’’) in Fairbanks. Following the record-breaking snowfalls in February, Fairbanks nonetheless headed towards breakup season with a well-above average snow pack.
In April, Interior Alaska saw a substantial amount of late season snowfall with totals of 12.2’’ and 6.4’’ in Bettles and Fairbanks, respectively. This is equivalent to more than twice the normal amount of April snowfall for both stations (235% and 206%, respectively). At the Fairbanks Airport, snow depth dropped from 29’’ in early April to around 19’’ during the first warm spell of the month. Mid-month snowfalls and cooler weather briefly slowed the decline before renewed warm weather later in the month produced another sharp drop in snow depth to about 8’’ by the end of April.
Anchorage lost their generally above average snow pack over the course of April. The melt out date during the last third of April was near average, following a continuous decline in snow depth since the beginning of the month. In Juneau, snow depth at the airport went from 16’’ on April 1 to only traces of snow by April 11, ending the remarkable snow season of 2025/26 at this station.
River ice break-up
Outside of Arctic Alaska, river ice break-up is mostly complete. The tripod on the Tanana River at Nenana fell on May 4th, 2026, adding another data point to the unique time series of the Nenana Ice Classic. Break-up occurred about 5 days later in 2026 than on average during the 1991-2020 reference period. The 2026 date would have been almost exactly “normal” for the reference period 1961-1990 (Fig. 8). Most other locations with long-term records of break-up dates were also a few days later than average without any extreme outliers for early or late break-up (refer to the May 26, 2026, break-up outlook by the APRFC for a comprehensive list of dates).
Impacts from break-up and snow melt related flooding have mostly been moderate so far this season. However, disaster declarations were issued for Chalkyitsik and Hughes on the Black River and the Koyukuk River, respectively, and various communities on Alaska’s waterways reported instances of inundated buildings and temporarily impacted airstrips. Break-up related concerns now shift to the North Slope, where ice is expected to deteriorate over the next weeks. At present, the break-up outlook indicates moderate flooding potential for communities on the Colville River and for the Dalton Highway near the Sagavanirktok River.
Delayed Green-Up
Spring greenery has been slow to arrive due to the cool weather. The long-standing time series of Green-Up dates on Chena Ridge in Fairbanks shows that leaves came out about 5 days later than normal compared to the 1991-2020 climatology. The Fairbanks National Weather Service declared May 15 2026 as this year’s Green-Up date. Phenological data like the Chena Ridge Green-Up time series are place-based and track particular stages of a specific plant species’ seasonal evolution – in this case the appearance of the first fresh leaves on the birch and aspen trees on Chena Ridge as viewed from the UAF campus. Although not quite as long as the famous time series of cherry blooms in Japan, which has been recorded since the 9th century, the Chena Ridge time series provides valuable context for the climatology of growing season parameters. The 51-year time series does not indicate a clear trend in any direction but does highlight the large year-to-year variability of spring weather in Interior Alaska.
