Photo: Bryanhiggs at en.wikipedia · Public domainChicken’s winters are colder and snowier than most of the U.S.
A typical July afternoon reaches 70°, a January night drops to −29°, and about 37 inches of snow falls in a normal winter.
A year in Chicken at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, and what it brings.
What stands out about Chicken’s climate
Compared with towns across the U.S., with Chicken’s place in Alaska beside it.
What a year in Chicken 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 274 nights a year fall to 32° or below, and 151 to 0° or below. Frost dates and degree days from Chicken, AK, 2.8 miles away.
The 2023 USDA map puts Chicken’s center in zone 3a: the coldest night of a typical winter, averaged over 1991–2020, reaches about −37°. Plant labels use the zone; frost dates tell you when to plant.
Freezing nights by month
Average nights at or below 32°
About 37 inches of snow a winter
Snow, measured at Chicken, AK, is heaviest from November through December, about 8 inches a month. Precipitation (rain plus melted snow) adds up to 12 inches a year; July is the wettest month and February the driest. Rain or snow falls on about 61 days a year.
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
Snowfall by month
Inches of snow
Heating and cooling a home in Chicken
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 Chicken, AK.
Living with Chicken’s climate
What the numbers mean for a garden, a free afternoon and a bad-weather day.
Zone 3a, and frost can come in any month. The longest frost-free stretch in half of years is about 42 days.
Months with highs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more: July. 29 miles of trails are waiting.
Parks & trails →Of the yearly building losses FEMA expects in Chicken 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 →Chicken and similar climates
TownRatings has no climate map of the towns around Chicken yet.
Climates most like Chicken’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken, AK | −29° | 70° | 12" | 37" |
| 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 Chicken compares
Against 12,954 U.S. towns of 2,500 or more (one per 5 km climate cell), with Chicken’s place among Alaska’s.
Chicken weather by month
Highs, lows and precipitation from the nearest NOAA station; snow, wet days and snow on the ground from Chicken, AK. 1991–2020 normals.
| Month | High | Low | Rain + melt | Snow | Wet days | Snow on ground |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | −11° | −29° | 0.4" | 5.7" | 3 | 31 |
| February | 1° | −22° | 0.3" | 2.6" | 2 | 29 |
| March | 20° | −14° | 0.3" | 2.7" | 2 | 31 |
| April | 42° | 12° | 0.3" | 2.3" | 2 | 26 |
| May | 58° | 29° | 1.0" | 1.0" | 5 | 1 |
| June | 69° | 38° | 2.4" | 0.0" | 8 | 0 |
| July | 70° | 42° | 2.8" | 0.0" | 11 | 0 |
| August | 64° | 36° | 2.0" | 0.0" | 10 | 0 |
| September | 53° | 26° | 1.1" | 1.1" | 6 | 1 |
| October | 31° | 10° | 0.6" | 6.1" | 4 | 20 |
| November | 4° | −14° | 0.6" | 7.9" | 4 | 30 |
| December | −7° | −23° | 0.5" | 7.2" | 4 | 31 |
| Year | 33° | 8° | 12.3" | 36.6" | 61 | 200 |
Where Chicken’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: Chicken, AK.
- Frost dates, heating and cooling: Chicken, AK, 2.8 miles away.
- 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 Chicken’s climate
What is the weather like in Chicken?
A typical July afternoon reaches 70°, a January night drops to −29°, and about 37 inches of snow falls in a normal winter. Colder January nights: first of 12,955 U.S. towns; cooler July afternoons than all but 82 U.S. towns.
How cold does it get in Chicken in winter?
January nights average −29°. About 274 nights a year reach 32° or below and 151 reach 0° or below.
How much snow does Chicken get?
About 37 inches in a normal winter at Chicken, AK, heaviest from November through December, about 8 inches a month, with snow on the ground about 200 days a year.
How hot does it get in Chicken?
July, with a typical high of 70°. 90° days are rare: none in a normal year at Chicken, AK.
When is the first and last frost in Chicken?
There is no reliable frost-free season: at Chicken, AK, every month has nights at 32° or below, about 274 a year. In half of years the longest stretch without a freeze is about 42 days.
What growing zone is Chicken in?
Zone 3a on the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: the coldest night of a typical winter reaches about −37°.
What is the best time of year to visit Chicken?
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 Chicken.
Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020; USDA/PRISM 2023 hardiness zones; FEMA National Risk Index. Today’s forecast: National Weather Service.