Michael Russell asked:
The weather patterns in Alaska can be extreme and quite unpredictable. You may be bathing in the sunlight for weeks before being blown out into the Pacific. The temperatures vary from a high of 100 degrees to a low of negative 80 degrees. Make sure you know what to expect depending on the month you choose to travel in.
June – August
The summer months are perhaps the most exciting time of the year. The sun shines nearly all day long here making for some very short nights. The sun energizes people as it refuses to go down. June 21st is the longest day of the year and it shines for 21 hours in Alaska that day. Even throughout the summer, you can expect some longer than normal daylight hours. June is the driest and the best month in the summer to travel. Alaska is generally warm depending on where you go. In the Arctic it is of course cooler than in the southern region. In the Artic, the snow could stick around until mid-June making for a cold and muddy experience up through the trails in the mountains. July is warmer than June is but not nearly as wet as in August. August is the rainiest time of the year so make sure to pack a raincoat and umbrella.
Summer does have one drawback while all the tourists flood to Alaska, high prices. The tourist industry has but 90 days to make all of the money they can to live on for that year. Working 3 months and having 9 months off pushes them to make as much money as possible and the higher the prices the better for them. July is the busiest travel month and this is where they make most of their money. From mid-June to mid-August is where the bulk of the tourists come to experience Alaska and it really drops off before Memorial Day and after Labor Day. Cruises are very popular from May to October.
May & September
These 2 months are still particularly good for travel. May is when the earlier tourists start flying in or coming in on cruises. By September, things are calming down and the remaining tourists are hoping to steal the last good deal of the year. May is warmer than September but this can vary. It depends greatly on where you travel. The farther north you go and the earlier in May you decide to travel; you will experience more chilly weather along with snow and mud. Alaska does not have a spring, they have a “breakup” where the snow and ice start to melt and cover everything with mud.
September can be a hit or miss month. You could experience warm and dry weather but the opposite is very true too. September can throw a foot and a half of rain on you while the sun barely peeks out. The weather patterns can be unpredictable but the sights could be the best if you catch it just right. The lights reflected from the snowy tundra and the boreal forest prompt an amazing display of bright, vivid colors in the sky.
October, November & April
These transition months take us from the busy summer months to the colder months in the winter. Tourists find little to do during this time. October is very wet and November is the start of winter however there is still not enough snow to ski or enjoy other winter activities. April is the end of winter when the snow melts and the mud forces many places to close.
December – March
The winter is the most exciting time of the year when anything that can be done with snow and ice is. February though mid-March is the peak of the winter where the sun gives you longer days. Many activities happen including skiing, snowmobile races, ice carving, snowshoeing, dog mushing and more. Winter is also the time for Anchorage’s Fur Rendezvous in February and Iditarod Dog Sled race in March.
