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December Weather at Arctic Village Airport Alaska, United States

Daily high temperatures are around -4°F, rarely falling below -24°F or exceeding 13°F.

Daily low temperatures are around -17°F, rarely falling below -38°F or exceeding 1°F.

For reference, on July 4, the hottest day of the year, temperatures at Arctic Village Airport typically range from 50°F to 66°F, while on January 21, the coldest day of the year, they range from -21°F to -8°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in December at Arctic Village Airport

The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average temperatures for the quarter of the year centered on December. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in December at Arctic Village Airport

Average Hourly Temperature in December at Arctic Village AirportDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMNovJanfrigid
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Kogalym, Russia (3,215 miles away) and Tosontsengel, Mongolia (3,727 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Arctic Village Airport (view comparison).

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The month of December at Arctic Village Airport experiences essentially constant cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy remaining about 60% throughout the month. The highest chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 62% on December 8.

The clearest day of the month is December 31, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 42% of the time.

For reference, on September 26, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 66%, while on March 2, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 49%.

Cloud Cover Categories in December at Arctic Village Airport

Cloud Cover Categories in December at Arctic Village AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%NovJanMar 249%Mar 249%Dec 141%Dec 141%Dec 3142%Dec 3142%Dec 1138%Dec 1138%Dec 2140%Dec 2140%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. At Arctic Village Airport, the chance of a wet day over the course of December is essentially constant, remaining around 8% throughout.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 34% on July 9, and its lowest chance is 4% on March 6.

Probability of Precipitation in December at Arctic Village Airport

The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day snowfall during December at Arctic Village Airport is essentially constant, remaining about 2.7 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 6.1 inches or falling below 0.1 inches.

Average Monthly Snowfall in December at Arctic Village Airport

The average snowfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average rainfall.

Due to its extreme latitude, Arctic Village Airport experiences polar day (also known as the midnight Sun) during the summer and polar night during the winter. These are periods of time in which the sun is continuously above or below the horizon for more than one day. The precise start and end dates of polar day and night vary from year to year and depend on the precise location and elevation of the observer, and the local topography.

In the winter at Arctic Village Airport during 2024, the Sun is continuously below the horizon for 4.1 weeks, setting at 12:53 PM on December 6, and not rising again until 12:42 PM on January 4. As such, polar night begins in December on and lasts beyond the end of the month.

The longest day of the month is December 1, with 2 hours, 6 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in December at Arctic Village Airport

The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The earliest sunrise of the month at Arctic Village Airport is 11:28 AM on December 1 and the latest sunrise is 45 minutes later at 12:13 PM on December 6.

The latest sunset is 1:34 PM on December 1 and the earliest sunset is 41 minutes earlier at 12:53 PM on December 6.

Daylight saving time is observed at Arctic Village Airport during 2024, but it neither starts nor ends during December, so the entire month is in daylight saving time.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in December at Arctic Village Airport

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in December at Arctic Village AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031312 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMNovJan12:13 PM12:13 PMDec 612:53 PMDec 612:53 PMSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunset
The solar day over the course of December. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in December at Arctic Village Airport

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in December at Arctic Village AirportDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMNovJan00
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of December 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for December 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. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in December at Arctic Village Airport

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in December at Arctic Village AirportDec112233445566778899101011111212131314141515161617171818191920202121222223232424252526262727282829293030313112 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMNovJanNov 14:48 AMNov 14:48 AMNov 1512:29 PMNov 1512:29 PMDec 1512:02 AMDec 1512:02 AMJan 131:28 PMJan 131:28 PMJan 293:37 AMJan 293:37 AM3:35 PM3:35 PM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM12:00 AM11:33 AM11:33 AM3:28 PM3:28 PM
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.
Dec 2024IlluminationMoonriseMoonsetMoonriseMeridian PassingDistance
1
0%12:58 PMS244,971 mi
2
3%1:57 PMS242,871 mi
3
8%2:57 PMS240,730 mi
4
14%3:56 PMS238,581 mi
5
23%3:41 PMSSE6:01 PMSSW-4:51 PMS236,441 mi
6
33%2:37 PMSE8:52 PMSW-5:44 PMS234,331 mi
7
45%2:07 PMESE11:04 PMWSW-6:33 PMS232,293 mi
8
50%1:43 PMESE--7:21 PMS230,407 mi
9
68%-1:08 AMW1:22 PME8:08 PMS228,797 mi
10
78%-3:12 AMWNW1:00 PMENE8:56 PMS227,622 mi
11
88%-5:27 AMNW12:31 PMNE9:47 PMS227,054 mi
12
94%-8:12 AMNNW11:39 AMNNE10:41 PMS227,249 mi
13
99%11:39 PMS228,300 mi
14
100%--
15
100%12:39 AMS230,208 mi
16
99%1:39 AMS232,860 mi
17
95%2:36 AMS236,041 mi
18
88%-2:32 PMNNW5:44 PMNNE3:28 AMS239,471 mi
19
81%-1:41 PMNW8:12 PMNE4:16 AMS242,855 mi
20
72%-1:14 PMWNW10:08 PMENE5:00 AMS245,916 mi
21
63%-12:53 PMWNW11:53 PME5:40 AMS248,423 mi
22
50%-12:35 PMW-6:20 AMS250,207 mi
23
43%1:34 AME12:16 PMWSW-6:58 AMS251,169 mi
24
34%3:17 AMESE11:55 AMWSW-7:38 AMS251,277 mi
25
25%5:09 AMSE11:28 AMSW-8:19 AMS250,570 mi
26
17%7:30 AMSSE10:39 AMSSW-9:04 AMS249,146 mi
27
10%9:54 AMS247,153 mi
28
5%10:48 AMS244,775 mi
29
1%11:46 AMS242,215 mi
30
0%12:47 PMS239,670 mi
31
1%1:48 PMS237,307 mi

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 chance that a given day will be muggy at Arctic Village Airport is essentially constant during December, remaining around 0% throughout.

Humidity Comfort Levels in December at Arctic Village Airport

Humidity Comfort Levels in December at Arctic Village AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%NovJanDec 10%Dec 10%Dec 310%Dec 310%Dec 110%Dec 110%Dec 210%Dec 210%drydry
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

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 at Arctic Village Airport is essentially constant during December, remaining within 0.2 miles per hour of 7.8 miles per hour throughout.

For reference, on January 13, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 8.2 miles per hour, while on August 30, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 6.2 miles per hour.

Average Wind Speed in December at Arctic Village Airport

The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The wind direction at Arctic Village Airport during December is predominantly out of the east from December 1 to December 30 and the north from December 30 to December 31.

Wind Direction in December at Arctic Village Airport

Wind Direction in December at Arctic Village AirportNENDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%NovJaneastnorthwest
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

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 at Arctic Village Airport typically lasts for 2.9 months (87 days), from around May 28 to around August 23, rarely starting before May 11 or after June 14, and rarely ending before August 6 or after September 10.

The month of December at Arctic Village Airport is reliably fully outside of the growing season.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in December at Arctic Village Airport

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in December at Arctic Village AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%NovJan0%Dec 160%Dec 16frigidfreezing
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

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.

The average accumulated growing degree days at Arctic Village Airport are essentially constant during December, remaining around 568°F throughout.

Growing Degree Days in December at Arctic Village Airport

The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of December, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

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 at Arctic Village Airport is essentially constant during December, remaining around 0.0 kWh throughout.

The lowest average daily incident shortwave solar energy during December is 0.0 kWh on December 21.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in December at Arctic Village Airport

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in December at Arctic Village AirportDec11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303031310.00 kWh0.00 kWh0.05 kWh0.05 kWh0.10 kWh0.10 kWh0.15 kWh0.15 kWh0.20 kWh0.20 kWh0.25 kWh0.25 kWh0.30 kWh0.30 kWh0.35 kWh0.35 kWh0.40 kWh0.40 kWh0.45 kWh0.45 kWhNovJanDec 210.0 kWhDec 210.0 kWhDec 10.0 kWhDec 10.0 kWhDec 310.0 kWhDec 310.0 kWhDec 110.0 kWhDec 110.0 kWh
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Arctic Village Airport are 68.116 deg latitude, -145.573 deg longitude, and 2,051 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Arctic Village Airport contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 226 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,063 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (3,212 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (6,391 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Arctic Village Airport is covered by grassland (65%) and shrubs (21%), within 10 miles by grassland (63%) and shrubs (27%), and within 50 miles by grassland (38%) and shrubs (24%).

This report illustrates the typical weather at Arctic Village Airport, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

Arctic Village Airport has a weather station that reported reliably enough during the analysis period that we have included it in our network. When available, historical temperature and dew point measurements are taken directly from this weather station. These records are obtained from NOAA's Integrated Surface Hourly data set, falling back on ICAO METAR records as required.

There are no other weather stations in our network within 200 kilometers of this location. Consequently, in the case of missing or erroneous measurements from this station, we fall back on NASA's MERRA-2 modern-era reanalysis , adjusted according to typical seasonal and diurnal differences between this station and the wide-area MERRA-2 reconstructed values.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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