Cold Snap Forecast for Alaska: The Next Arctic Blast
In Anchorage the coldest week is usually Jan 9 to 15, with a normal low of 10°F, and the coldest night of the last 10 winters was −21°F on Feb 3, 2024.
Reading the National Weather Service forecast for Anchorage.
Normals and records at Anchorage International Airport
The week with the lowest normal low at each reference station, from NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals, beside the coldest night of the last 10 winters, the median first freeze and the record low.
The coldest week and the coldest nights at Alaska reference stations
Station
Coldest week
Normal low
Coldest night, last 10 winters
First freeze
Record low
AnchorageAnchorage International Airport, USW00026451
Jan 9 to 15
10°F
−21°FFeb 3, 2024
Oct 2
−34°FJan 5, 1975records since 1952
FairbanksFairbanks International Airport, USW00026411
Jan 9 to 15
−18°F
−51°FJan 18, 2017
Sep 14
−66°FJan 14, 1934records since 1929
JuneauJuneau International Airport, USW00025309
Jan 11 to 17
24°F
−10°FDec 23, 2025
Oct 2
−22°FTwice, last on Jan 12, 1972records since 1936
NomeNome Municipal Airport, USW00026617
Jan 10 to 16
−3°F
−37°FJan 30, 2024
Sep 9
−54°FTwice, last on Jan 28, 1989records since 1900
UtqiagvikBarrow Post Rogers Airport, USW00027502
Mar 2 to 8
−19°F
−46°FFeb 11, 2021
Jul 7
−56°FFeb 3, 1924records since 1901
Normals from NOAA NCEI; nightly lows from GHCN-Daily, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026.
The panel at the top of this page sets the next 7 nights at Anchorage against the normal low for each date and adds the Climate Prediction Center outlook for the two weeks after. Enter a ZIP for your own town; it uses the nearest of the 5 Alaska reference stations.
At Anchorage it is usually Jan 9 to 15, with a normal low of 10°F. At the other reference stations: Fairbanks Jan 9 to 15 (−18°F), Juneau Jan 11 to 17 (24°F), Nome Jan 10 to 16 (−3°F) and Utqiagvik Mar 2 to 8 (−19°F). These are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily normals.
The normal low at Anchorage reaches 32°F around Oct 14 and 20°F around Nov 8. The first actual freeze came around Oct 2 in the median of the last 10 winters.
The coldest night of the last 10 winters at Anchorage was −21°F on Feb 3, 2024, and the coldest night of a typical winter there was −10°F. Elsewhere: Fairbanks −51°F on Jan 18, 2017, Juneau −10°F on Dec 23, 2025 and Nome −37°F on Jan 30, 2024. The record at the Anchorage station is −34°F, on Jan 5, 1975, in daily records since 1952.
At Anchorage a typical recent winter brings 181 nights at 32°F or colder, 97 at 20°F or colder and 14 at zero or colder, the median of the last 10 seasons.
Each night's forecast low is compared with the NOAA normal low for that date at the nearest reference station. A night 20 or more degrees below normal is an arctic blast, and so is a night below zero where the normal low is 10°F or warmer. A night 10 to 19 below is a cold snap. A night 5 or more below, or a week that runs 3 or more below on average, is colder than normal, and a week 5 or more above is mild.
The normal lows and coldest weeks are NOAA's 1991 to 2020 daily climate normals for Anchorage International Airport (USW00026451), Fairbanks International Airport (USW00026411), Juneau International Airport (USW00025309), Nome Municipal Airport (USW00026617) and Barrow Post Rogers Airport (USW00027502). The recent winters, first dates and records come from the same stations' daily lows in NOAA's GHCN-Daily archive, the winters of 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026. The 7 night forecast is the National Weather Service's and the outlook is the Climate Prediction Center's.
