Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Haines Airport Alaska, United States

At Haines Airport, the summers are cool and wet; the winters are long, freezing, and snowy; and it is overcast year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 19°F to 65°F and is rarely below -1°F or above 74°F.

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

The warm season lasts for 3.9 months, from May 13 to September 9, with an average daily high temperature above 57°F. The hottest month of the year at Haines Airport is July, with an average high of 64°F and low of 52°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.9 months, from November 10 to March 5, with an average daily high temperature below 36°F. The coldest month of the year at Haines Airport is January, with an average low of 19°F and high of 29°F.

At Haines 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 Haines Airport begins around February 14 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around August 26.

The clearest month of the year at Haines Airport is May, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 30% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around August 26 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around February 14.

The cloudiest month of the year at Haines Airport is October, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 80% 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 Haines Airport varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.4 months, from August 21 to February 5, with a greater than 54% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Haines Airport is October, with an average of 21.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.5 months, from February 5 to August 21. The month with the fewest wet days at Haines Airport is June, with an average of 11.6 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 at Haines Airport changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 9.2 months, from February 13 to November 20. The month with the most days of rain alone at Haines Airport is September, with an average of 18.7 days.

Mixed snow and rain is the most common for 2.1 months, from January 13 to February 13 and from November 20 to December 23. The month with the most days of mixed snow and rain at Haines Airport is December, with an average of 7.3 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 3.0 weeks, from December 23 to January 13. The month with the most days of snow alone at Haines Airport is December, with an average of 6.7 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. Haines Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year at Haines Airport. The month with the most rain at Haines Airport is October, with an average rainfall of 11.2 inches.

The month with the least rain at Haines Airport is June, with an average rainfall of 3.4 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 6.6 months, from October 4 to April 21, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Haines Airport is January, with an average snowfall of 37.3 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 5.5 months, from April 21 to October 4. The least snow falls around July 16, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Haines Airport varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 6 hours, 6 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 18 hours, 36 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 3:45 AM on June 18, and the latest sunrise is 5 hours, 13 minutes later at 8:58 AM on December 26. The earliest sunset is at 3:02 PM on December 15, and the latest sunset is 7 hours, 20 minutes later at 10:21 PM on June 22.

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

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.1 months, from October 2 to April 5, with average wind speeds of more than 6.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Haines Airport is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.3 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.9 months, from April 5 to October 2. The calmest month of the year at Haines Airport is June, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.1 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 1.9 weeks, from January 18 to January 31; for 8.0 months, from March 13 to November 13; and for 3.1 weeks, from November 26 to December 18, with a peak percentage of 67% on July 20. The wind is most often from the north for 1.4 months, from January 31 to March 13; for 1.9 weeks, from November 13 to November 26; and for 1.0 months, from December 18 to January 18, with a peak percentage of 42% on February 20.

Haines 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 2.5 months, from June 30 to September 15, with an average temperature above 52°F. The month of the year at Haines Airport with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 55°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.8 months, from December 9 to May 1, with an average temperature below 43°F. The month of the year at Haines Airport with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 40°F.

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

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Haines Airport for hot-weather activities is from mid June to early July, with a peak score in the last week of June.

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 Haines Airport typically lasts for 5.5 months (166 days), from around April 25 to around October 8, rarely starting before April 8 or after May 13, and rarely ending before September 19 or after October 27.

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 Haines Airport should appear around May 30, only rarely appearing before May 16 or after June 16.

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 3.0 months, from April 24 to July 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Haines Airport is June, with an average of 5.5 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.3 months, from October 10 to February 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Haines Airport is December, with an average of 0.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Haines Airport are 59.244 deg latitude, -135.524 deg longitude, and 7 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Haines Airport contains extreme variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 3,632 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 635 feet. Within 10 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (6,693 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (8,848 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Haines Airport is covered by water (40%), shrubs (27%), trees (19%), and sparse vegetation (10%), within 10 miles by water (26%) and trees (26%), and within 50 miles by snow and glaciers (32%) and trees (16%).