Alaska Climate Research Center

The Alaska State Climate Center
The Alaska State Climate Center
The Alaska State Climate Center
Home > Tourist Information

Visiting Alaska

Tourism is a major industry in Alaska, and an important part of enjoying a visit to our beautiful state is being prepared to deal with our widely-varying and ever-changing weather. This page includes information to help prospective visitors plan a trip to the last frontier.

Things to consider while packing for your trip:

Climatology

A good approach to determine what type of weather to expect on your trip to Alaska is to look at the climatology of the location(s) you expect to visit.  Climatology does not attempt to predict the weather for your trip, but it will give you a good idea of the general weather conditions for the time of your visit. It may be useful to compare climatology data for your destination(s) with data for, or near, where you live as a reference.

An overview of Alaska’s climate can be found here.

Climate normals for locations across the state can be seen by clicking the buttons below. What is a climate normal? Find out in our FAQ section.

Long-Lead Forecasts

Click on the images below to find information regarding forecast conditions for Alaska and Canada for the next 10 days. This can be a useful tool to see the general range of temperature and precipitation conditions expected during your stay, although the conditions for a specific date can change.

   

The Golden Rule

There is one special rule that has been found to work for most travelers in Alaska, and that is to always be prepared for one season COLDER than the time you are traveling. This is especially important for those who travel early and late in the season. Likewise, if your plans are going to take you into any of Alaska’s many mountainous regions, be prepared for cooler temperatures and higher winds.

Links to check out before you go outdoors:

Weather Forecasts

As the time of your trip approaches, keep a watch on the current weather conditions at the locations you plan to visit.  Check out our Weather page for the current weather conditions and short-term forecasts for locations across the state. Please note the time difference between where you are and the current time in Alaska.

Road Conditions

Whether driving to Alaska on the ALCAN or driving in and around the state, check on updated road conditions using one of the links below.

Daylight

Click on the city names below to view graphs of the sunrise and sunset times (adjust for daylight savings time ahead one hour from the second week in March until the first week in November).

Kodiak
Juneau
Seward
Anchorage
King Salmon
Nome
Fairbanks
Utqiagvik