Fairbanks climate — normals and trends
Fairbanks (United States) has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Dfb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is -1.5 °C and it receives 342 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is July (17.4 °C on average) and the coldest is January (-20.2 °C). Rainfall peaks in July.
Fairbanks averages 208 frost days, 1 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 79 rainy days per year.
Fairbanks has warmed by +2.3 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.27 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 216 to 200 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 36.2 °C (on 15 June 1969) and the coldest -56.6 °C (on 29 December 1961).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
FairbanksAlaska
- coords
- 64.84°, -147.72°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
-1.5°C
Average daily high
2.9°C
Average daily low
-5.8°C
Annual rainfall
342mm
Sunshine / day
8.5h
Mean relative humidity
67%
Average peak wind
11.9km/h
Seasonal range
37.6°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
208 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
1 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
79 d/yr
Annual snowfall
69.5 cm
Average feels-like high
-0.6 °C
Average feels-like low
-9.5 °C
Average peak gust
25.7 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
9.4 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.3 °C
since 1940
+0.3 °C per decade · r² = 0.26 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
36.2 °C
15 June 1969
Coldest day
-56.6 °C
29 December 1961
Wettest day
61 mm
12 August 1967
Windiest day
36.8 km/h
28 March 1948
Strongest gust
94.0 km/h
14 November 2013
Hottest feels-like
34.5 °C
15 June 1969
Coldest feels-like
-61.8 °C
29 December 1961
Snowiest day
15.9 cm
29 September 2015
Sunniest day
20.1 h
27 June 2025
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -7.9 °C | +8.9 °C | 22 mm | +9 mm |
| Feb | -9.4 °C | +2.8 °C | 9 mm | -3 mm |
| Mar | -0.8 °C | +3.9 °C | 6 mm | -5 mm |
| Apr | 7.4 °C | +1.8 °C | 29 mm | +17 mm |
| May | 14.6 °C | -0.6 °C | 36 mm | +11 mm |
| Jun | 22.6 °C | +1.7 °C | 15 mm | -37 mm |
| Jul | 23.3 °C | +1.4 °C | 79 mm | +16 mm |
| Aug | 19.1 °C | +0.4 °C | 106 mm | +43 mm |
| Sep | 11.9 °C | -0.3 °C | 41 mm | +3 mm |
| Oct | 3.9 °C | +3.1 °C | 58 mm | +35 mm |
| Nov | -8.8 °C | +2.1 °C | 5 mm | -11 mm |
| Dec | -25.1 °C | -9.3 °C | 19 mm | +3 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Fairbanks?
Fairbanks has a warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is -1.5 °C and it receives 342 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Fairbanks?
The hottest day measured in Fairbanks between 1940 and 2025 was 15 June 1969, reaching 36.2 °C.
What is the coldest day in Fairbanks?
The coldest day measured in Fairbanks between 1940 and 2025 was 29 December 1961, at -56.6 °C.
Does it snow in Fairbanks?
Yes. Fairbanks gets on average 69.5 cm of snow per year and has around 208 frost days.
Has the climate of Fairbanks warmed?
Yes: Fairbanks warmed by +2.3 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Fairbanks?
The wettest day measured in Fairbanks between 1940 and 2025 was 12 August 1967, with 61 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Fairbanks?
The windiest day measured in Fairbanks between 1940 and 2025 was 28 March 1948, with winds reaching 36.8 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Fairbanks?
The warmest month in Fairbanks is July (17.4 °C on average); the coldest is January (-20.2 °C).
How much does it rain in Fairbanks?
Fairbanks receives on average 342 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 79 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Fairbanks?
Fairbanks gets on average 8.5 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,103 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Fairbanks?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Fairbanks between 1940 and 2025 was 29 September 2015, with 15.9 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Fairbanks?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Fairbanks.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Fairbanks?
In Fairbanks, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 34.5 °C on 15 June 1969, and the lowest was -61.8 °C on 29 December 1961.
Compare Fairbanks with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Fairbanks