Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Chignik Airport United States

At Chignik Airport, the summers are short and cool; the winters are long, very cold, and windy; and it is mostly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 27°F to 59°F and is rarely below 12°F or above 65°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Chignik Airport for warm-weather activities is from late July to late August.

The warm season lasts for 2.9 months, from June 17 to September 15, with an average daily high temperature above 54°F. The hottest month of the year at Chignik Airport is August, with an average high of 59°F and low of 50°F.

The cold season lasts for 4.8 months, from November 16 to April 11, with an average daily high temperature below 39°F. The coldest month of the year at Chignik Airport is February, with an average low of 28°F and high of 35°F.

At Chignik Airport, 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 at Chignik Airport begins around August 17 and lasts for 3.1 months, ending around November 21.

The clearest month of the year at Chignik Airport is October, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 45% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around November 21 and lasts for 8.9 months, ending around August 17.

The cloudiest month of the year at Chignik Airport is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 70% 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 at Chignik Airport varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.9 months, from August 14 to February 12, with a greater than 34% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Chignik Airport is September, with an average of 12.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.1 months, from February 12 to August 14. The month with the fewest wet days at Chignik Airport is May, with an average of 8.5 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. The month with the most days of rain alone at Chignik Airport is September, with an average of 12.1 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 42% on September 17.

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. Chignik Airport experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year at Chignik Airport. The month with the most rain at Chignik Airport is September, with an average rainfall of 3.5 inches.

The month with the least rain at Chignik Airport is April, with an average rainfall of 1.6 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 4.6 months, from November 14 to April 3, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Chignik Airport is January, with an average snowfall of 2.3 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 7.4 months, from April 3 to November 14. The least snow falls around July 23, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Chignik Airport varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 6 hours, 53 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 17 hours, 42 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:43 AM on June 17, and the latest sunrise is 4 hours, 23 minutes later at 10:07 AM on December 27. The earliest sunset is at 4:56 PM on December 14, and the latest sunset is 6 hours, 30 minutes later at 11:26 PM on June 23.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Chignik Airport 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 at Chignik Airport, 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 at Chignik Airport experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.2 months, from September 17 to April 24, with average wind speeds of more than 12.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Chignik Airport is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 16.4 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.8 months, from April 24 to September 17. The calmest month of the year at Chignik Airport is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.4 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Chignik Airport varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 1.2 months, from May 10 to June 16, with a peak percentage of 32% on May 29. The wind is most often from the west for 3.0 months, from July 6 to October 6, with a peak percentage of 40% on August 26. The wind is most often from the north for 7.1 months, from October 6 to May 10, with a peak percentage of 32% on January 1.

Chignik Airport 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 2.8 months, from July 10 to October 4, with an average temperature above 49°F. The month of the year at Chignik Airport with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 52°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.5 months, from December 29 to May 12, with an average temperature below 40°F. The month of the year at Chignik Airport with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 37°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Chignik Airport 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 Chignik Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from late July to late August, with a peak score in the second week of August.

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 at Chignik Airport typically lasts for 5.7 months (175 days), from around April 30 to around October 22, rarely starting before April 11 or after May 19, and rarely ending before September 23 or after November 19.

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 at Chignik Airport should appear around July 16, only rarely appearing before June 28 or after August 3.

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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from April 26 to August 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.2 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Chignik Airport is June, with an average of 5.0 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from October 23 to February 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Chignik Airport is December, with an average of 0.3 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Chignik Airport are 56.311 deg latitude, -158.374 deg longitude, and 26 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Chignik Airport contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,860 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 297 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,327 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (8,264 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Chignik Airport is covered by water (61%) and shrubs (37%), within 10 miles by water (59%) and shrubs (32%), and within 50 miles by water (53%) and shrubs (35%).