Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Wrangell Alaska, United States

In Wrangell, the summers are cool, the winters are long and very cold, and it is wet and overcast year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 29°F to 65°F and is rarely below 14°F or above 73°F.

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

The warm season lasts for 3.4 months, from May 26 to September 8, with an average daily high temperature above 59°F. The hottest month of the year in Wrangell is July, with an average high of 64°F and low of 52°F.

The cold season lasts for 4.0 months, from November 12 to March 13, with an average daily high temperature below 42°F. The coldest month of the year in Wrangell is January, with an average low of 30°F and high of 37°F.

In Wrangell, 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 in Wrangell begins around April 11 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around September 14.

The clearest month of the year in Wrangell is August, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 33% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 14 and lasts for 6.9 months, ending around April 11.

The cloudiest month of the year in Wrangell is October, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 81% 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 in Wrangell varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.4 months, from August 25 to February 8, with a greater than 59% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Wrangell is October, with an average of 22.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.5 months, from February 8 to August 25. The month with the fewest wet days in Wrangell is May, with an average of 13.6 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. The month with the most days of rain alone in Wrangell is October, with an average of 22.5 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 75% on October 22.

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. Wrangell experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Wrangell. The month with the most rain in Wrangell is October, with an average rainfall of 15.0 inches.

The month with the least rain in Wrangell is June, with an average rainfall of 4.7 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 4.9 months, from October 31 to March 26, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Wrangell is January, with an average snowfall of 11.2 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 7.1 months, from March 26 to October 31. The least snow falls around July 16, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Wrangell varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2025, the shortest day is December 21, with 6 hours, 50 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 20, with 17 hours, 45 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 3:58 AM on June 18, and the latest sunrise is 4 hours, 26 minutes later at 8:24 AM on December 28. The earliest sunset is at 3:11 PM on December 14, and the latest sunset is 6 hours, 33 minutes later at 9:43 PM on June 23.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Wrangell during 2025, starting in the spring on March 9, lasting 7.8 months, and ending in the fall on November 2.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2025. 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 in Wrangell, 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 in Wrangell experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.1 months, from October 5 to April 10, with average wind speeds of more than 6.4 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Wrangell 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 10 to October 5. The calmest month of the year in Wrangell is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.4 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Wrangell varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 3.0 days, from June 16 to June 19 and for 1.6 months, from August 6 to September 24, with a peak percentage of 37% on September 17. The wind is most often from the west for 1.6 months, from June 19 to August 6, with a peak percentage of 39% on July 19. The wind is most often from the east for 8.7 months, from September 24 to June 16, with a peak percentage of 66% on January 1.

Wrangell 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 2.4 months, from July 5 to September 18, with an average temperature above 51°F. The month of the year in Wrangell with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 53°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.5 months, from December 19 to May 1, with an average temperature below 44°F. The month of the year in Wrangell with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 41°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Wrangell 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 Wrangell for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid July to mid 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 Wrangell for hot-weather activities is from late July to early August.

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 in Wrangell typically lasts for 6.9 months (209 days), from around April 9 to around November 4, rarely starting before March 16 or after April 28, and rarely ending before October 10 or after November 29.

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 in Wrangell should appear around June 2, only rarely appearing before May 20 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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from April 26 to August 7, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.2 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Wrangell is June, with an average of 5.0 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.2 months, from October 12 to February 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Wrangell is December, with an average of 0.3 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Wrangell are 56.471 deg latitude, -132.377 deg longitude, and 69 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Wrangell contains large variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 2,182 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 193 feet. Within 10 miles contains large variations in elevation (3,688 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (9,980 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Wrangell is covered by water (64%) and trees (25%), within 10 miles by water (49%) and trees (41%), and within 50 miles by trees (44%) and water (22%).