Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Sutton-Alpine United States

In Sutton-Alpine, the summers are cool, wet, and overcast and the winters are long, frigid, snowy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 7°F to 61°F and is rarely below -14°F or above 69°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Sutton-Alpine for warm-weather activities is from late June to late July.

The warm season lasts for 3.2 months, from May 29 to September 5, with an average daily high temperature above 52°F. The hottest month of the year in Sutton-Alpine is July, with an average high of 61°F and low of 46°F.

The cold season lasts for 4.1 months, from November 3 to March 8, with an average daily high temperature below 26°F. The coldest month of the year in Sutton-Alpine is January, with an average low of 7°F and high of 17°F.

In Sutton-Alpine, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Sutton-Alpine begins around January 3 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around April 27.

The clearest month of the year in Sutton-Alpine is March, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 41% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 27 and lasts for 8.3 months, ending around January 3.

The cloudiest month of the year in Sutton-Alpine is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 73% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Sutton-Alpine varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.6 months, from May 30 to October 18, with a greater than 39% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Sutton-Alpine is September, with an average of 16.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.4 months, from October 18 to May 30. The month with the fewest wet days in Sutton-Alpine is March, with an average of 7.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Sutton-Alpine changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 6.0 months, from April 18 to October 19. The month with the most days of rain alone in Sutton-Alpine is August, with an average of 16.8 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 5.8 months, from October 19 to April 15. The month with the most days of snow alone in Sutton-Alpine is December, with an average of 8.9 days.

Mixed snow and rain is the most common for 3.0 days, from April 15 to April 18. The month with the most days of mixed snow and rain in Sutton-Alpine is October, with an average of 3.0 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Sutton-Alpine experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from April 11 to November 11, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Sutton-Alpine is August, with an average rainfall of 5.3 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.0 months, from November 11 to April 11. The month with the least rain in Sutton-Alpine is February, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Sutton-Alpine experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 8.1 months, from September 12 to May 17, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Sutton-Alpine is December, with an average snowfall of 19.6 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 3.9 months, from May 17 to September 12. The least snow falls around July 20, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Sutton-Alpine varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 5 hours, 14 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 19 hours, 38 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:07 AM on June 18, and the latest sunrise is 6 hours, 10 minutes later at 10:17 AM on December 25. The earliest sunset is at 3:29 PM on December 16, and the latest sunset is 8 hours, 17 minutes later at 11:46 PM on June 21.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Sutton-Alpine during 2024, starting in the spring on March 10, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 3.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Sutton-Alpine, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Sutton-Alpine experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.8 months, from October 9 to April 4, with average wind speeds of more than 6.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Sutton-Alpine is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.2 months, from April 4 to October 9. The calmest month of the year in Sutton-Alpine is June, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.0 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Sutton-Alpine varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 3.2 months, from May 31 to September 5, with a peak percentage of 46% on July 27. The wind is most often from the east for 8.8 months, from September 5 to May 31, with a peak percentage of 71% on January 1.

Sutton-Alpine is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.4 months, from July 7 to September 21, with an average temperature above 48°F. The month of the year in Sutton-Alpine with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 51°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 6.0 months, from November 12 to May 13, with an average temperature below 36°F. The month of the year in Sutton-Alpine with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 32°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Sutton-Alpine throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Sutton-Alpine for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to late July, with a peak score in the first week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Sutton-Alpine typically lasts for 3.7 months (112 days), from around May 25 to around September 14, rarely starting before May 10 or after June 10, and rarely ending before August 27 or after October 1.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Sutton-Alpine should appear around June 30, only rarely appearing before June 18 or after July 19.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.9 months, from April 24 to July 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Sutton-Alpine is June, with an average of 5.7 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.1 months, from October 17 to February 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Sutton-Alpine is December, with an average of 0.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Sutton-Alpine are 61.778 deg latitude, -148.764 deg longitude, and 2,762 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Sutton-Alpine contains extreme variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 3,435 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,542 feet. Within 10 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (6,850 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (13,100 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Sutton-Alpine is covered by shrubs (83%) and sparse vegetation (10%), within 10 miles by shrubs (32%) and trees (25%), and within 50 miles by shrubs (25%) and sparse vegetation (19%).