Photo: Beeblebrox · CC BY-SA 3.0Alcan Border sits near the bottom of U.S. towns for winter warmth
High summer brings afternoon highs near 71°. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than almost every U.S. town. A year here swings 89° from midwinter lows to midsummer highs. Central heating does most of its work from September to May, in months below 50° on average.
A year in Alcan Border at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, and what it brings.
What stands out about Alcan Border’s climate
Compared with towns across the U.S., with Alcan Border’s place in Alaska beside it.
What a year in Alcan Border feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from NOAA’s 30-year normals.
A freeze is possible in every month
About 272 nights a year fall to 32° or below, and 126 to 0° or below. Frost and day counts come from NOAA’s station at Tok 70 Se, AK, 2.4 miles from the town’s center, 490 ft lower.
The 2023 USDA map puts Alcan Border’s center in zone 2b: the coldest night of a typical winter, averaged over 1991–2020, reaches about −43°. Plant labels use the zone; frost dates tell you when to plant.
Freezing nights by month
Average nights at or below 32°
About 27 inches of snow a winter
Snow, measured at Port Alcan, AK, falls mostly in November. Precipitation (rain plus melted snow) adds up to 13 inches a year; July is the wettest month and April the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 77 days a year.
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
Snowfall by month
Inches of snow
Heating and cooling a home in Alcan Border
Nearly all of the work is heating: a normal year has almost no cooling days. Months averaging under 55°: every month but July.
Degree days add up how far each day’s average falls below (heating) or rises above (cooling) 65° over a year. NOAA normals at Tok 70 Se, AK.
Living with Alcan Border’s climate
What the numbers mean for a garden, a free afternoon and a bad-weather day.
Zone 2b, and frost can come in any month. The longest frost-free stretch in half of years is about 53 days.
Months with highs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more: July. 8.4 miles of trails are waiting.
Parks & trails →Of the yearly building losses FEMA expects in Alcan Border from natural hazards, avalanches are the largest share (40%); heat waves, cold waves, winter storms and ice storms together are 12%. Normals are averages; the hazards page covers the extremes.
Natural hazards →Alcan Border and similar climates
TownRatings has no climate map of the towns around Alcan Border yet.
Climates most like Alcan Border’s, farther away
TownRatings’ own comparison of NOAA 1991–2020 normals, not a NOAA product: places of 5,000+ at least 150 miles away, one per state, closest on January low, July high, precipitation and snow.
| Town | Jan. low | July high | Precip. | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alcan Border, AK | −19° | 71° | 13" | 27" |
| Thief River Falls, MN | −4° | 79° | 22" | 50" |
| Grand Forks, ND | −2° | 81° | 22" | 49" |
| Gunnison, CO | 0° | 82° | 12" | 50" |
| Superior, WI | 6° | 76° | 30" | 56" |
Temperatures and precipitation come from NOAA’s 5 km grid; snow and day counts from the stations named on this page.
How Alcan Border compares
Against 12,954 U.S. towns of 2,500 or more (one per 5 km climate cell), with Alcan Border’s place among Alaska’s.
Alcan Border weather by month
Highs, lows and precipitation from the nearest NOAA station; snow, wet days and snow on the ground from Port Alcan, AK. 1991–2020 normals.
| Month | High | Low | Rain + melt | Snow | Wet days | Snow on ground |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −3° | −19° | 0.5" | 3.5" | 4 | 29 |
| February | 9° | −15° | 0.5" | 2.9" | 3 | 26 |
| March | 26° | −6° | 0.4" | 3.0" | 2 | 29 |
| April | 45° | 15° | 0.3" | 0.9" | 2 | 18 |
| May | 60° | 29° | 0.9" | 0.7" | 6 | 1 |
| June | 69° | 39° | 2.5" | 0.0" | 13 | 0 |
| July | 71° | 42° | 2.5" | 0.0" | 13 | 0 |
| August | 66° | 38° | 1.9" | 0.0" | 11 | 0 |
| September | 55° | 29° | 1.1" | 0.5" | 8 | 1 |
| October | 33° | 14° | 0.9" | 4.1" | 5 | 11 |
| November | 9° | −8° | 0.7" | 7.1" | 6 | 27 |
| December | 2° | −17° | 0.6" | 4.7" | 5 | 29 |
| Year | 37° | 12° | 12.7" | 27.4" | 77 | 170 |
Where Alcan Border’s numbers come from
Normals are 30-year averages, not a forecast. How TownRatings reads climate data →
- Temperatures and precipitation: NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station (NOAA’s grid doesn’t cover Alaska).
- Snow: Port Alcan, AK.
- Frost, freezing nights, 90° and 100° days, heating and cooling: Tok 70 Se, AK, 2.4 miles from the town’s center, 490 ft lower; the nearest station that passes our checks for distance, height and agreement with the grid.
- Growing zone: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. USDA Agricultural Research Service and PRISM Group, Oregon State University, prism.oregonstate.edu/phzm, accessed 8 Oct 2026.
- Storms and extremes: FEMA National Risk Index (expected annual losses to buildings).
Common questions about Alcan Border’s climate
What is the weather like in Alcan Border?
A typical July afternoon reaches 71°, a January night drops to −19°, and about 27 inches of snow falls in a normal winter. Colder January nights: first of 12,955 U.S. towns; cooler July afternoons than all but 89 U.S. towns.
How cold does it get in Alcan Border in winter?
January nights average −19°. About 272 nights a year reach 32° or below and 126 reach 0° or below.
How much snow does Alcan Border get?
About 27 inches in a normal winter at Port Alcan, AK, most of it in November, with snow on the ground about 170 days a year.
How hot does it get in Alcan Border?
July, with a typical high of 71°. 90° days are rare: none in a normal year at Tok 70 Se, AK.
When is the first and last frost in Alcan Border?
There is no reliable frost-free season: at Tok 70 Se, AK, every month has nights at 32° or below, about 272 a year. In half of years the longest stretch without a freeze is about 53 days.
What growing zone is Alcan Border in?
Zone 2b on the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: the coldest night of a typical winter reaches about −43°.
What is the best time of year to visit Alcan Border?
By one simple rule (highs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more), July. The rule is ours, not NOAA’s; the month table has the numbers to judge by.
Neighbors talk weather
Gardens, snow, and the best days of the year in Alcan Border.
Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020; USDA/PRISM 2023 hardiness zones; FEMA National Risk Index. Today’s forecast: National Weather Service.