Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Alert CanadaAt Alert, the summers are short, very cold, and partly cloudy and the winters are long, frigid, snowy, and overcast. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from -24°F to 41°F and is rarely below -34°F or above 48°F. Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Alert for warm-weather activities is from mid to late July. Average Temperature at AlertThe warm season lasts for 2.9 months, from June 7 to September 3, with an average daily high temperature above 30°F. The hottest month of the year at Alert is July, with an average high of 41°F and low of 35°F. The cold season lasts for 4.9 months, from November 18 to April 15, with an average daily high temperature below -5°F. The coldest month of the year at Alert is February, with an average low of -23°F and high of -16°F.
The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day. McMurdo Station, Antarctica (11,817 miles away) is the far-away foreign place with temperatures most similar to Alert (view comparison). CloudsAt Alert, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year. The clearer part of the year at Alert begins around May 5 and lasts for 4.6 months, ending around September 22. The clearest month of the year at Alert is June, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 52% of the time. The cloudier part of the year begins around September 22 and lasts for 7.5 months, ending around May 5. The cloudiest month of the year at Alert is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 88% of the time.
PrecipitationAlert does not experience significant seasonal variation in the frequency of wet days (i.e., those with greater than 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation). The frequency ranges from 0% to 8%, with an average value of 3%. 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 Alert changes throughout the year. Snow alone is the most common for 9.7 months, from August 28 to June 19. The month with the most days of snow alone at Alert is September, with an average of 1.4 days. Rain alone is the most common for 2.3 months, from June 19 to August 28. The month with the most days of rain alone at Alert is July, with an average of 2.0 days.
RainfallTo 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. Alert experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall. Rain falls throughout the year at Alert. The month with the most rain at Alert is July, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches. The month with the least rain at Alert is January, with an average rainfall of -0.0 inches.
SnowfallAs with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Alert experiences some seasonal variation in monthly snowfall. The snowy period of the year lasts for 1.7 months, from August 19 to October 9, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Alert is September, with an average snowfall of 2.0 inches. The snowless period of the year lasts for 10 months, from October 9 to August 19. The least snow falls around February 26, with an average total accumulation of 0.2 inches.
SunDue to its extreme latitude, Alert 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 summer at Alert during 2024, the Sun is continuously above the horizon for 5.0 months, rising at 12:33 AM on April 6, and not setting again until 11:52 PM on September 4. In the winter at Alert during 2024, the Sun is continuously below the horizon for 4.5 months, setting at 12:48 PM on October 13, and not rising again until 10:12 AM on February 28.
Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Alert 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 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. MoonThe 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. HumidityWe 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 Alert, 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.
WindThis 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 Alert experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year. The windier part of the year lasts for 5.2 months, from October 18 to March 24, with average wind speeds of more than 8.6 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Alert is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.8 miles per hour. The calmer time of year lasts for 6.8 months, from March 24 to October 18. The calmest month of the year at Alert is June, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.3 miles per hour.
The predominant average hourly wind direction at Alert varies throughout the year. The wind is most often from the south for 2.1 months, from July 6 to September 9, with a peak percentage of 44% on August 3. The wind is most often from the west for 1.3 months, from September 9 to October 17, with a peak percentage of 38% on October 8. The wind is most often from the north for 8.6 months, from October 17 to July 6, with a peak percentage of 50% on January 1. Water TemperatureAlert 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 does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 1°F of 30°F throughout.
Best Time of Year to VisitTo characterize how pleasant the weather is at Alert 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 Alert for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid to late July. Tourism Score at AlertThe 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 Alert for hot-weather activities is from early July to early August, with a peak score in the first week of July. Beach/Pool Score at AlertMethodologyFor 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. Growing SeasonDefinitions 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 Alert typically lasts for 3.1 weeks (22 days), from around July 11 to around August 2, rarely starting before June 18, or ending after August 23. 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. Solar EnergyThis 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 2.1 months, from May 17 to July 20, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Alert is June, with an average of 7.0 kWh. The darker period of the year lasts for 6.8 months, from September 8 to April 3, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.4 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Alert is January, with an average of 0.0 kWh.
TopographyFor the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Alert are 82.500 deg latitude, -62.333 deg longitude, and 190 ft elevation. The topography within 2 miles of Alert contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 430 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 128 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,713 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (6,227 feet). The area within 2 miles of Alert is covered by bare soil (59%), water (25%), and snow and glaciers (16%), within 10 miles by water (49%) and bare soil (33%), and within 50 miles by water (63%) and bare soil (18%). Data SourcesThis report illustrates the typical weather at Alert, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016. Temperature and Dew PointAlert 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 DataAll 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. DisclaimerThe 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. Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page. |