Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Healy River Airport United States

At Healy River Airport, the summers are cool, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are long, frigid, snowy, and partly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from -5°F to 66°F and is rarely below -32°F or above 75°F.

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

The warm season lasts for 3.5 months, from May 20 to September 3, with an average daily high temperature above 55°F. The hottest month of the year at Healy River Airport is July, with an average high of 65°F and low of 49°F.

The cold season lasts for 4.0 months, from November 2 to March 2, with an average daily high temperature below 20°F. The coldest month of the year at Healy River Airport is January, with an average low of -4°F and high of 10°F.

At Healy River 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 Healy River Airport begins around December 30 and lasts for 3.1 months, ending around April 1.

The clearest month of the year at Healy River Airport is March, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 41% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 1 and lasts for 8.9 months, ending around December 30.

The cloudiest month of the year at Healy River Airport is September, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 68% 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 Healy River Airport varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 4.6 months, from May 18 to October 5, with a greater than 26% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Healy River Airport is July, with an average of 13.9 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 7.4 months, from October 5 to May 18. The month with the fewest wet days at Healy River Airport is March, with an average of 2.3 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 Healy River Airport changes throughout the year.

Snow alone is the most common for 6.4 months, from October 7 to April 20. The month with the most days of snow alone at Healy River Airport is December, with an average of 4.0 days.

Rain alone is the most common for 5.6 months, from April 20 to October 7. The month with the most days of rain alone at Healy River Airport is July, with an average of 13.9 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. Healy River Airport experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 5.6 months, from April 26 to October 14, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Healy River Airport is July, with an average rainfall of 4.2 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 6.4 months, from October 14 to April 26. The month with the least rain at Healy River Airport is December, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 8.3 months, from September 6 to May 17, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Healy River Airport is October, with an average snowfall of 7.5 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from May 17 to September 6. The least snow falls around July 13, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day at Healy River Airport varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 4 hours, 16 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 20 hours, 55 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 3:30 AM on June 19, and the latest sunrise is 7 hours, 17 minutes later at 10:46 AM on December 24. The earliest sunset is at 3:01 PM on December 17, and the latest sunset is 9 hours, 24 minutes later at 12:25 AM on June 21.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Healy River 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.

Healy River Airport experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 2.2 months, from June 16 to August 21, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 3% of the time. The month with the most muggy days at Healy River Airport is July, with 3.2 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is March 1, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

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 Healy River Airport experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 4.1 months, from November 9 to March 12, with average wind speeds of more than 7.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Healy River Airport is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.2 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 7.9 months, from March 12 to November 9. The calmest month of the year at Healy River Airport is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.1 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the west for 3.6 weeks, from June 20 to July 15, with a peak percentage of 41% on July 5. The wind is most often from the south for 11 months, from July 15 to June 20, with a peak percentage of 58% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Healy River 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 Healy River Airport for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to late July, with a peak score in the second 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 Healy River Airport for hot-weather activities is from late June to early July, with a peak score in the first week of July.

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 Healy River Airport typically lasts for 3.5 months (109 days), from around May 18 to around September 4, rarely starting before May 2 or after June 2, and rarely ending before August 16 or after September 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.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms at Healy River Airport should appear around June 8, only rarely appearing before May 29 or after June 18.

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 3.4 months, from April 20 to August 2, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Healy River Airport is June, with an average of 5.3 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.2 months, from October 16 to February 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Healy River Airport is December, with an average of 0.1 kWh.