What Are the Warmest Cities in Alaska?

KEY TAKEAWAYS
The three warmest cities in Alaska are Ketchikan, Sitka, and Klawock.

In this article I’m going to share with you my ranking of the warmest places in Alaska.

I created my list by researching data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other climate data providers.

Below I’m listing the top 10 warmest places in Alaska that have the highest average yearly temperatures. Later in the article I share a table with 30 most populous cities in Alaska.

I also encourage you to read my article “What City Has the Best Weather in Alaska?“

Top 10 Warmest Cities in Alaska

Here are the top 10 warmest places in Alaska ranked by their daily mean temperature. While Alaska is known for very cold weather, these ten places feature a much warmer climate, with warmer temperatures both in the winter and the summer.

1. Ketchikan – daily mean temperature of 45.5 °F

Ketchikan, a city of 8,000 people located in southernmost Southeast Alaska on Revillagigedo Island, is the warmest city in Alaska. It’s also one of the wettest cities in the United States, with 153 inches of rain and 229 precipitation days a year. Ketchikan sees an average summer temperature between 62-65 °F during the day and 47-51 °F at night. In the winter, weather is still relatively mild, with average highs of 39-42 °F and lows of 29-31 °F. Snow falls between November and April, with 13.3 inches of snowfall in the snowiest month of January.

2. Sitka – daily mean temperature of 45.45 °F

Sitka occupies Baranof Island and the south half of Chichagof Island in Southern Alaska. The city proper is located on the western side of Baranof Island. Curiously, Sitka is the largest city in the United States as for its area, occupying a staggering 4,815 square miles of land and water. Sitka has a slightly lower annual daily mean temperatures but offers much better weather than Ketchikan because it gets about half the amount of precipitation. In fact, if you’re looking for the warmest weather regardless of the season, it may have the best weather in Alaska year round. It has the mildest winters in the entire state, with average highs of 40-42 °F and lows of 32-33 °F. Summer temperatures are noticeably cooler, though, with daytime temperatures of 58-62 °F and nighttime temperatures of 48-53 °F between June and August.

3. Klawock – daily mean temperature of 45.2 °F

The tiny town of Klawock, located on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island, is the third warmest place in the Last Frontier State. It offers similarly mild winters to Sitka (temperatures are lower by about a degree) and warmer summer temperatures of 61-64 °F during the day.

4. Craig – daily mean temperature of 44.95 °F

Craig is a small town of 1,000 people, located about 7 miles southwest of Klawock, on the same island. It has similar mild winters and cooler summer months.

5. Juneau – daily mean temperature of 43.5 °F

Juneau is the third largest city in Alaska as for its population. It’s the most populous city in this ranking and the warmest major Alaskan city. Juneau gets much colder winters than the previous cities. Average highs reach 34-37 °F while lows drop below freezing to cold 27-29 °F. Still, Juneau is a great city for those who want relatively warm for Alaskan standards weather. At 1,530 sunshine hours a year, it’s one of the gloomiest cities in the United States, though.

6. Wrangell – daily mean temperature of 43.45 °F

Wrangell is located on Wrangell Island. This small town of about 2,000 inhabitants has summers that are some of the warmest in this ranking, with temperatures reaching 62-64 °F during the day.

7. Hoonah – daily mean temperature of 43.1 °F

Hoonah is a small town situated on Chichagof Island. With less than 1,000 people living there, it’s one of the smallest communities in this ranking. Its temperatures are very similar to Juneau, only it has cooler nights, particularly in the summer months.

8. Kodiak – daily mean temperature of 42.2 °F

Kodiak is the main city on Kodak Island. A population of over 5,000 people makes it the tenth most populous city in Alaska. Kodiak enjoys a relatively sunny weather for its location. It gets 2,192 sunshine hours year round. Even in the gloomiest months, sun shines at least 40% of the time, which is much more than 20% in the cloudiest months in Juneau. Kodiak also has mild weather in the winter, with temperatures reaching 36-38 °F during the day and 26-27 °F at night. Summers are cooler, though, with average highs of 57-63 °F.

9. Unalaska – daily mean temperature of 41.6 °F

Unalaska is the largest population center in the Aleutian Islands. Due to its location, it has a subpolar oceanic climate, closely bordering a subarctic climate. Summer temperatures are even milder than in other cities, reaching on average between 52-59 °F with nights dropping to cool 42-48 °F.

10. Seward – daily mean temperature of 40.4 °F

Seward is a port city located about 127 miles south of Anchorage, near Kenai Fjords National Park. It’s the northernmost city in this ranking. Like Unalaska, the climate of Seward borders on a subarctic climate. Winter temperatures in Seward can stay below freezing even during the day, between 31-34 °F. Nights drop to cold 21-24 °F. Summers are similarly mild to other cities, with temperatures between 59-62 °F during the day and 45-50 °F at night.

30 Biggest Cities in Alaska Ranked by Daily Mean Temperature

I created the table below by researching data for the most populous municipalities in Alaska. When I couldn’t find data for a given city, I moved on to another. While the list includes 30 cities, some of the bigger cities may be missing because there was no data for them. Please check the closest geographically city then.

Also check my article on the warmest cities in the US in every state. You may be also interested in the coldest cities in the US. I also included Alaska in my list of states with the best weather for those who like cold climates.

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