Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/shorezone/ · CC BY 2.0Kivalina has some of the coolest summers among U.S. towns
Nights in January average −9°. Winter nights are cold: in January they are colder than in almost every U.S. town. The gap between a January night and a July afternoon is 65°. Homes need heating from August to June, the months averaging under 50°.
A year in Kivalina at a glance
Each month’s typical high and low, and what it brings.
What stands out about Kivalina’s climate
Compared with towns across the U.S., with Kivalina’s place in Alaska beside it.
What a year in Kivalina feels like
Typical highs and lows by season and by month, from NOAA’s 30-year normals.
About 92 frost-free days a year
In half of years the last 32° night comes by June 10 and the first by September 11. Frost and day counts come from NOAA’s station at Kivalina Airport, 1.1 miles from the town’s center, at about the same height.
The 2023 USDA map puts Kivalina’s center in zone 2b: the coldest night of a typical winter, averaged over 1991–2020, reaches about −40°. Plant labels use the zone; frost dates tell you when to plant.
Freezing nights by month
Average nights at or below 32°
About 10 inches of rain a year
August is the wettest month and December the driest.
Rain + melted snow by month
Inches of water
Heating and cooling a home in Kivalina
Nearly all of the work is heating: a normal year has almost no cooling days. Months averaging under 55° run from every month of the year.
Degree days add up how far each day’s average falls below (heating) or rises above (cooling) 65° over a year. NOAA normals at Kivalina Airport.
Living with Kivalina’s climate
What the numbers mean for a garden, a free afternoon and a bad-weather day.
92 frost-free days in zone 2b. The last frost comes by Jun 10 in half of years, so many gardeners wait a week or two past that to set out tomatoes. The first fall frost comes by Sep 11.
1.4 miles of trails are waiting.
Parks & trails →Cold waves are 92% of the yearly building losses FEMA expects in Kivalina from natural hazards, the largest share. Normals are averages; the hazards page covers the extremes.
Natural hazards →Kivalina and similar climates
TownRatings has no climate map of the towns around Kivalina yet.
Temperatures and precipitation come from NOAA’s 5 km grid; snow and day counts from the stations named on this page.
How Kivalina compares
Against 12,954 U.S. towns of 2,500 or more (one per 5 km climate cell), with Kivalina’s place among Alaska’s.
Kivalina weather by month
Highs, lows and precipitation from the nearest NOAA station. 1991–2020 normals.
| Month | High | Low | Rain + melt |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7° | −9° | 0.3" |
| February | 10° | −7° | 0.4" |
| March | 9° | −8° | 0.2" |
| April | 24° | 6° | 0.6" |
| May | 38° | 26° | 0.6" |
| June | 50° | 38° | 0.8" |
| July | 56° | 46° | 1.4" |
| August | 55° | 44° | 2.3" |
| September | 46° | 35° | 1.5" |
| October | 31° | 21° | 0.9" |
| November | 17° | 6° | 0.5" |
| December | 10° | −4° | 0.2" |
| Year | 29° | 16° | 9.7" |
Where Kivalina’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).
- Frost, freezing nights, 90° and 100° days, heating and cooling: Kivalina Airport, 1.1 miles from the town’s center, at about the same height; 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 Kivalina’s climate
What is the weather like in Kivalina?
A typical July afternoon reaches 56°, a January night drops to −9°. Colder January nights than all but 9 U.S. towns; cooler July afternoons than all but 1 U.S. town.
How cold does it get in Kivalina in winter?
January nights average −9°. About 244 nights a year reach 32° or below and 103 reach 0° or below.
How hot does it get in Kivalina?
July, with a typical high of 56°. 90° days are rare: none in a normal year at Kivalina Airport.
When is the first and last frost in Kivalina?
In half of years the last spring frost (32°) comes by June 10 and the first fall frost by September 11, about 92 frost-free days, at Kivalina Airport.
What growing zone is Kivalina in?
Zone 2b on the 2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map: the coldest night of a typical winter reaches about −40°.
What is the best time of year to visit Kivalina?
No month meets the simple rule we use (highs of 62–84° and lows of 40° or more). 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 Kivalina.
Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020; USDA/PRISM 2023 hardiness zones; FEMA National Risk Index. Today’s forecast: National Weather Service.