Kenny Lake sits near the bottom of U.S. towns for winter warmth
High summer brings afternoon highs near 70°. The year swings widely: the coldest month’s nights and the warmest month’s afternoons are 79° apart. By July afternoons alone, it runs cooler than almost every U.S. town. Picnics, hikes and garden evenings suit July and August, with highs of 65–70°.
A year in Kenny Lake at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, and what it brings.
What stands out about Kenny Lake’s climate
Compared with towns across the U.S., with Kenny Lake’s place in Alaska beside it.
What a year in Kenny Lake 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 259 nights a year fall to 32° or below, and 103 to 0° or below. Frost dates and degree days from Tonsina, AK, 12 miles away.
The 2023 USDA map puts Kenny Lake’s center in zone 4a: the coldest night of a typical winter, averaged over 1991–2020, reaches about −29°. Plant labels use the zone; frost dates tell you when to plant.
Freezing nights by month
Average nights at or below 32°
About 72 inches of snow a winter
Snow, measured at Tonsina, 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 84 days a year.
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
Snowfall by month
Inches of snow
Heating and cooling a home in Kenny Lake
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 Tonsina, AK.
Living with Kenny Lake’s climate
What the numbers mean for a garden, a free afternoon and a bad-weather day.
Zone 4a, and frost can come in any month. The longest frost-free stretch in half of years is about 72 days.
Months with highs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more: July and August. 1.4 miles of trails are waiting.
Parks & trails →Of the yearly building losses FEMA expects in Kenny Lake from natural hazards, avalanches are the largest share (76%); heat waves, cold waves, winter storms and ice storms together are 3%. Normals are averages; the hazards page covers the extremes.
Natural hazards →Kenny Lake and its neighbors
Every town next door is within a degree of Kenny Lake in January and July, closer than the 5 km grid can tell apart. Tap a town to see its climate.
Climates most like Kenny Lake’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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenny Lake, AK | −10° | 70° | 13" | 72" |
| International Falls, MN | −5° | 78° | 28" | 73" |
| Superior, WI | 6° | 76° | 30" | 56" |
| Jackson, WY | 6° | 80° | 19" | 78" |
| Grand Forks, ND | −2° | 81° | 22" | 49" |
Temperatures and rain come from NOAA’s 5 km grid, so each town gets its own value. Snow and frost-free days come from the nearest weather station, so neighbors often share them.
How Kenny Lake compares
Against 12,954 U.S. towns of 2,500 or more (one per 5 km climate cell), with Kenny Lake’s place among Alaska’s.
Kenny Lake weather by month
Highs, lows and precipitation from the nearest NOAA station; snow, wet days and snow on the ground from Tonsina, AK. 1991–2020 normals.
| Month | High | Low | Rain + melt | Snow | Wet days | Snow on ground |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5° | −10° | 1.1" | 9.3" | 6 | 31 |
| February | 17° | −5° | 1.0" | 12.4" | 6 | 29 |
| March | 29° | −1° | 0.5" | 6.0" | 3 | 31 |
| April | 45° | 19° | 0.2" | 2.2" | 2 | 29 |
| May | 57° | 31° | 0.5" | 0.4" | 4 | 4 |
| June | 67° | 40° | 1.4" | 0.0" | 8 | 0 |
| July | 70° | 45° | 1.8" | 0.0" | 10 | 0 |
| August | 65° | 40° | 1.8" | 0.0" | 12 | 0 |
| September | 54° | 31° | 1.5" | 1.6" | 10 | 2 |
| October | 36° | 17° | 1.0" | 9.1" | 8 | 17 |
| November | 15° | 0° | 1.3" | 17.0" | 8 | 28 |
| December | 7° | −8° | 1.3" | 13.8" | 7 | 31 |
| Year | 39° | 17° | 13.2" | 71.8" | 84 | 201 |
Where Kenny Lake’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: Tonsina, AK.
- Frost dates, heating and cooling: Tonsina, AK, 12 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 Kenny Lake’s climate
What is the weather like in Kenny Lake?
A typical July afternoon reaches 70°, a January night drops to −10°, and about 72 inches of snow falls in a normal winter. Colder January nights than all but 9 U.S. towns; cooler July afternoons than all but 76 U.S. towns.
How cold does it get in Kenny Lake in winter?
January nights average −10°. About 259 nights a year reach 32° or below and 103 reach 0° or below.
How much snow does Kenny Lake get?
About 72 inches in a normal winter at Tonsina, AK, most of it in November, with snow on the ground about 201 days a year.
How hot does it get in Kenny Lake?
July, with a typical high of 70°. 90° days are rare: none in a normal year at Tonsina, AK.
When is the first and last frost in Kenny Lake?
There is no reliable frost-free season: at Tonsina, AK, every month has nights at 32° or below, about 259 a year. In half of years the longest stretch without a freeze is about 72 days.
What growing zone is Kenny Lake in?
Zone 4a on the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: the coldest night of a typical winter reaches about −29°.
What is the best time of year to visit Kenny Lake?
By one simple rule (highs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more), July and August. 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 Kenny Lake.
Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020; USDA/PRISM 2023 hardiness zones; FEMA National Risk Index. Today’s forecast: National Weather Service.