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Winter Weather in Soldotna Alaska, United States

Daily high temperatures increase by 7°F, from 24°F to 32°F, rarely falling below 3°F or exceeding 41°F. The lowest daily average high temperature is 23°F on January 13.

Daily low temperatures are around 11°F, rarely falling below -16°F or exceeding 30°F. The lowest daily average low temperature is 9°F on January 20.

For reference, on July 19, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Soldotna typically range from 49°F to 64°F, while on January 19, the coldest day of the year, they range from 9°F to 23°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in the Winter in Soldotna

Average High and Low Temperature in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb-20°F-20°F-10°F-10°F0°F0°F10°F10°F20°F20°F30°F30°F40°F40°F50°F50°FFallSpringJan 1323°FJan 1323°F9°F9°FDec 124°FDec 124°F12°F12°FFeb 2832°FFeb 2832°F13°F13°FJan 123°FJan 123°F10°F10°FFeb 125°FFeb 125°F11°F11°FNowNow
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 winter temperatures. 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 the Winter in Soldotna

Average Hourly Temperature in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb12 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 AMFallSpringNowNowfrigidfreezingvery coldfrigid
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.

Ås, Sweden (3,859 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Soldotna (view comparison).

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The winter in Soldotna experiences gradually decreasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy decreasing from 58% to 53%. The highest chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 61% on December 17.

The clearest day of the winter is February 28, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 47% of the time.

For reference, on December 17, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 61%, while on March 15, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 48%.

Cloud Cover Categories in the Winter in Soldotna

Cloud Cover Categories in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%FallSpringMar 1548%Mar 1548%Dec 142%Dec 142%Feb 2847%Feb 2847%Jan 140%Jan 140%Feb 142%Feb 142%NowNowclearmostly clearpartly cloudyovercastmostly cloudy
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. In Soldotna, the chance of a wet day over the course of the winter is rapidly decreasing, starting the season at 32% and ending it at 25%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 43% on September 26, and its lowest chance is 19% on May 8.

Over the course of the winter in Soldotna, the chance of a day with only rain remains an essentially constant 6% throughout, the chance of a day with mixed snow and rain remains an essentially constant 7% throughout, and the chance of a day with only snow decreases from 19% to 12%.

Probability of Precipitation in the Winter in Soldotna

Probability of Precipitation in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb0%0%5%5%10%10%15%15%20%20%25%25%30%30%35%35%FallSpringJan 235%Jan 235%Dec 132%Dec 132%Feb 2825%Feb 2825%Feb 131%Feb 131%NowNowsnowmixedrain
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).

Rainfall

To show variation within the season and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day rainfall during the winter in Soldotna is essentially constant, remaining about 0.7 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 2.2 inches.

Average Monthly Rainfall in the Winter in Soldotna

Average Monthly Rainfall in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb0 in0 in2 in2 in4 in4 in6 in6 in8 in8 in10 in10 in12 in12 in14 in14 in16 in16 inFallSpringDec 10.8 inDec 10.8 inFeb 280.6 inFeb 280.6 inJan 10.7 inJan 10.7 inFeb 10.7 inFeb 10.7 inNowNow
The average rainfall (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 snowfall.

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 the winter in Soldotna is very rapidly decreasing, starting the season at 14.6 inches, when it rarely exceeds 25.3 inches or falls below 5.2 inches, and ending the season at 9.0 inches, when it rarely exceeds 17.9 inches or falls below 1.8 inches.

The highest average 31-day accumulation is 15.8 inches on December 22.

Average Monthly Snowfall in the Winter in Soldotna

Average Monthly Snowfall in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb0 in0 in5 in5 in10 in10 in15 in15 in20 in20 in25 in25 in30 in30 inFallSpringDec 2215.8 inDec 2215.8 inDec 114.6 inDec 114.6 inFeb 289.0 inFeb 289.0 inFeb 112.0 inFeb 112.0 inNowNow
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.

Over the course of the winter in Soldotna, the length of the day is very rapidly increasing. From the start to the end of the season, the length of the day increases by 4 hours, 8 minutes, implying an average daily increase of 2 minutes, 47 seconds, and weekly increase of 19 minutes, 32 seconds.

The shortest day of the winter is December 21, with 5 hours, 43 minutes of daylight and the longest day is February 28, with 10 hours, 25 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in the Winter in Soldotna

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb0 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hrFallSpringDec 215 hr, 43 minDec 215 hr, 43 minnightnightdaydayFeb 2810 hr, 25 minFeb 2810 hr, 25 minFeb 17 hr, 58 minFeb 17 hr, 58 minNowNow
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 latest sunrise of the winter in Soldotna is 10:12 AM on December 26 and the earliest sunrise is 2 hours, 8 minutes earlier at 8:04 AM on February 28.

The earliest sunset is 3:52 PM on December 15 and the latest sunset is 2 hours, 37 minutes later at 6:29 PM on February 28.

Daylight saving time is observed in Soldotna during 2024, but it neither starts nor ends during the winter, so the entire season is in standard time.

For reference, on June 20, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 4:34 AM and sets 19 hours, 4 minutes later, at 11:37 PM, while on December 21, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 10:11 AM and sets 5 hours, 43 minutes later, at 3:54 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in the Winter in Soldotna

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM2 AMFallSpring8:04 AM8:04 AMFeb 286:29 PMFeb 286:29 PM10:07 AM10:07 AMDec 153:52 PMDec 153:52 PMJan 14:05 PMJan 14:05 PM9:19 AM9:19 AMFeb 15:17 PMFeb 15:17 PMSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunsetNowNow
The solar day in the winter. 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 the Winter in Soldotna

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb12 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 AMFallSpring0010NowNow
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth in the the winter of 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 the winter of 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 the Winter in Soldotna

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb12 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMFallSpringNov 14:48 AMNov 14:48 AMNov 1512:29 PMNov 1512:29 PMNov 309:22 PMNov 309:22 PMDec 1512:02 AMDec 1512:02 AMDec 301:28 PMDec 301:28 PMJan 131:28 PMJan 131:28 PMJan 293:37 AMJan 293:37 AMFeb 124:54 AMFeb 124:54 AMFeb 273:45 PMFeb 273:45 PMMar 1310:55 PMMar 1310:55 PMMar 292:58 AMMar 292:58 AM10:18 AM10:18 AM5:29 PM5:29 PM10:11 AM10:11 AM2:43 PM2:43 PM2:00 PM2:00 PM3:30 PM3:30 PM11:14 AM11:14 AM10:17 AM10:17 AM5:25 PM5:25 PM8:28 AM8:28 AM6:21 PM6:21 PM7:44 PM7:44 PM8:31 AM8:31 AM10:00 PM10:00 PMNowNow
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.

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 in Soldotna is essentially constant during the winter, remaining around 0% throughout.

Humidity Comfort Levels in the Winter in Soldotna

Humidity Comfort Levels in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%FallSpringJan 150%Jan 150%Dec 10%Dec 10%Feb 280%Feb 280%Jan 10%Jan 10%Feb 10%Feb 10%NowNowdrydry
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 in Soldotna is essentially constant during the winter, remaining within 0.3 miles per hour of 9.0 miles per hour throughout.

For reference, on January 8, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 9.3 miles per hour, while on June 26, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 5.3 miles per hour.

The highest daily average wind speed during the winter is 9.3 miles per hour on January 8.

Average Wind Speed in the Winter in Soldotna

Average Wind Speed in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb0 mph0 mph2 mph2 mph4 mph4 mph6 mph6 mph8 mph8 mph10 mph10 mph12 mph12 mph14 mph14 mph16 mph16 mphFallSpringJan 89.3 mphJan 89.3 mphDec 18.9 mphDec 18.9 mphFeb 288.9 mphFeb 288.9 mphFeb 19.1 mphFeb 19.1 mphNowNow
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The hourly average wind direction in Soldotna throughout the winter is predominantly from the north, with a peak proportion of 55% on February 27.

Wind Direction in the Winter in Soldotna

Wind Direction in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb0%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%FallSpringNowNoweastnorthsouth
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).

Soldotna 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 surface water temperature in Soldotna is decreasing during the winter, falling by 4°F, from 37°F to 33°F, over the course of the season.

The lowest average surface water temperature during the winter is 33°F on February 14.

Average Water Temperature in the Winter in Soldotna

Average Water Temperature in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb30°F30°F32°F32°F34°F34°F36°F36°F38°F38°F40°F40°F42°F42°F44°F44°F46°F46°F48°F48°FFallSpringFeb 1433°FFeb 1433°FDec 137°FDec 137°FFeb 2833°FFeb 2833°FJan 134°FJan 134°FFeb 133°FFeb 133°FNowNow
The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

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 Soldotna typically lasts for 3.7 months (115 days), from around May 22 to around September 14, rarely starting before May 6 or after June 7, and rarely ending before August 26 or after October 3.

The winter in Soldotna is reliably fully outside of the growing season.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in the Winter in Soldotna

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%FallSpring0%Jan 150%Jan 15NowNowfrigidfreezingvery cold
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 in Soldotna are rapidly decreasing during the winter, decreasing by 591°F, from 591°F to 0°F, over the course of the season.

Growing Degree Days in the Winter in Soldotna

Growing Degree Days in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb0°F0°F100°F100°F200°F200°F300°F300°F400°F400°F500°F500°F600°F600°F700°F700°FFallSpringDec 1591°FDec 1591°FFeb 280°FFeb 280°F
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the winter, 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 in Soldotna is increasing during the winter, rising by 1.4 kWh, from 0.3 kWh to 1.7 kWh, over the course of the season.

The lowest average daily incident shortwave solar energy during the winter is 0.2 kWh on December 20.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the Winter in Soldotna

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the Winter in SoldotnaDecJanFeb0.0 kWh0.0 kWh0.5 kWh0.5 kWh1.0 kWh1.0 kWh1.5 kWh1.5 kWh2.0 kWh2.0 kWh2.5 kWh2.5 kWh3.0 kWh3.0 kWh3.5 kWh3.5 kWh4.0 kWh4.0 kWh4.5 kWh4.5 kWhFallSpringDec 200.2 kWhDec 200.2 kWhDec 10.3 kWhDec 10.3 kWhFeb 281.7 kWhFeb 281.7 kWhFeb 10.6 kWhFeb 10.6 kWhNowNow
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 Soldotna are 60.488 deg latitude, -151.058 deg longitude, and 102 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Soldotna contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 282 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 130 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (676 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (6,581 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Soldotna is covered by trees (52%), sparse vegetation (27%), and artificial surfaces (19%), within 10 miles by trees (61%) and herbaceous vegetation (15%), and within 50 miles by water (33%) and trees (27%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Soldotna, 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

There are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Soldotna.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Soldotna according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Soldotna is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Soldotna and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Soldotna and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source's contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

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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