Fairbanks, AK climate
Fairbanks has cold, snowy winters and cool summers, with very little rain. A typical July afternoon reaches 73°, a January night drops to -15°, and about 58 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals Updated once a decadeWhat a year in Fairbanks feels like
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall
Fairbanks weather by month
Average highs, lows, rain and snow for every month, from NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals.
| Month | High | Low | Rain + melt | Snow | Wet days | Snow on ground |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0° | -15° | 0.6" | 8.7" | 7 | 31 |
| February | 13° | -9° | 0.4" | 9.6" | 6 | 29 |
| March | 27° | -1° | 0.3" | 6.1" | 5 | 31 |
| April | 47° | 21° | 0.3" | 2.8" | 4 | 20 |
| May | 63° | 37° | 0.6" | 0.2" | 8 | 1 |
| June | 72° | 49° | 2.0" | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| July | 73° | 52° | 2.6" | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| August | 66° | 46° | 2.4" | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| September | 55° | 35° | 1.6" | 1.3" | 13 | 0 |
| October | 34° | 18° | 0.8" | 5.4" | 8 | 14 |
| November | 12° | -3° | 0.7" | 13.2" | 9 | 29 |
| December | 3° | -11° | 0.5" | 10.5" | 7 | 31 |
| Year | 39° | 18° | 13.0" | 57.8" | 110 | 186 |
“Wet days” have at least 0.01" of rain or melted snow. “Snow on ground” counts days with 1" or more.
Rain and snow in Fairbanks
Fairbanks gets 13 inches of rain and melted snow a year. July is the wettest month and March the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 110 days a year. Snow covers the ground about 186 days of the year.
About 112 frost-free days a year
In half of years the last 32° night comes by May 16 and the first one by September 6. That leaves about 112 frost-free days for gardens, shorter than 98% of U.S. towns.
Heating and cooling a home in Fairbanks
Engineers use “degree days” to estimate how hard a furnace or air conditioner works. In Fairbanks, 100% of that work is heating and 0% is cooling, so the furnace matters far more than the air conditioner.
Degree days measure how far each day’s average temperature falls below or rises above 65°, added up over a year. Source: NOAA station normals.
Fairbanks and its neighbors
Fairbanks borders 4 towns with climate data. January nights across them vary by 14.8°. South Van Horn has both the coldest January nights (-17°) and the hottest July afternoons (73°). Fairbanks’s January low is -15° and its July high 73°.
Temperatures and rain come from NOAA’s 5 km grid, so each town gets its own value.
How Fairbanks compares
Compared with every U.S. town and city on TownTapestry, each counted once.
Common questions about Fairbanks’s climate
What is the coldest month in Fairbanks?
January, with a typical high of 0° and a low of -15°.
What is the hottest month in Fairbanks?
July, with a typical high of 73° and a low of 52°.
How much snow does Fairbanks get?
About 58 inches in a normal winter, most of it in November.
When is the first frost in Fairbanks?
In half of years the first 32° night comes by September 6, and the last spring frost by May 16.
What is the rainiest month in Fairbanks?
July, with 2.6 inches of rain and melted snow. The year totals 13 inches.
NOAA’s gridded normals don’t cover this state, so temperatures and rainfall come from the nearest weather station. Snow, frost dates and day counts come from NOAA’s weather station at Aurora, AK (2 mi) away. Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020.