Anchorage Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages

How Often it Snows in Anchorage

The next two tables list monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.1 inches (0.25 centimetres).

10-year snowfall averages in Anchorage, 2010 to 2019

Days		Inches	Centi­metres
3.5	January	12.6	32.0
4.2	February	13.9	35.3
2.5	March	8.7	22.2
1.6	April	5.4	13.6
0.0	May	0.1	0.3
0.1	September	0.3	0.8
0.6	October	1.7	4.4
3.6	November	10.8	27.3
5.0	December	16.6	42.3
21.4	Year	71.9	182.5

30-year snowfall averages in Anchorage, 1991 to 2020

Days		Inches	Centi­metres
8.8	January	12.4	31.5
7.8	February	13.4	34.0
6.1	March	11.0	27.9
2.5	April	4.0	10.2
0.3	May	0.3	0.8
0.3	September	0.4	1.0
3.2	October	5.6	14.2
7.7	November	12.6	32.0
10.8	December	18.2	46.2
47.5	Year	77.9	197.9

These averages don't show how much the snowfall in Anchorage varies from year to year.

In December, for instance, one in four years has over 26.3 inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive less than 9.2 inches for the month.

Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 14.5 inches, while the lightest years get less than 6.9 inches.

New snow for February ranges from over 18.3 inches in heavy snowfall years to under 5.5 inches in light years.

When Anchorage Has Its First & Last Snowfalls

The first snowfall of winter for Anchorage usually arrives in October. In rare years, it starts snowing in September.

The season's last snowfall typically happens in April. Occasionally May also gets at least a dusting of snow.

Anchorage is normally free of snow every year from June to August.

How Many Snowstorms Anchorage Gets

Most days of snowfall in Anchorage leave less than an inch of fresh snow on the ground. For 22 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals at least an inch.

Snowstorms of over five inches a day normally occur three or four times a year. But major blizzards that dump ten inches or more in one day are rare events that don't happen every year.

Number of days per month and year on average in Anchorage with a total snowfall of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches

1 inch 2.5 cm	3 inches 7.6 cm		5 inches 12.7 cm	10 inches 25.4 cm
3.6	1.4	January	0.5	0.1
3.5	1.5	February	0.6	0.0
2.9	1.2	March	0.5	0.1
1.2	0.4	April	0.2	0.0
0.1	0.1	September	0.0	0.0
1.5	0.6	October	0.3	0.0
4.0	1.3	November	0.6	0.0
5.0	2.1	December	0.9	0.1
21.8	8.6	Year	3.6	0.3

How Much Snow Normally Accumulates in Anchorage

For most of winter, Anchorage has at least five inches of snow on the ground.

Snow mostly accumulates during December to March. Typically, on at least half the days in those months, the snow covering Anchorage amounts to ten or more inches deep. The snow amounts to 20 inches or more deep on an average of 26 days a year.

Average total days per month and year in Anchorage with snow depth of at least 1, 3, 5 or 10 inches on the ground

1 inch 2.5 cm	3 inches 7.6 cm		5 inches 12.7 cm	10 inches 25.4 cm
30.5	28.5	January	25.9	18.4
26.9	25.4	February	25.1	20.9
28.6	27.4	March	27.0	22.6
13.9	12.0	April	10.5	7.1
0.2	0.0	May	0.0	0.0
0.1	0.0	September	0.0	0.0
5.4	3.1	October	1.9	0.6
20.6	16.1	November	11.4	3.9
28.1	25.6	December	22.9	12.5
154.3	138.1	Year	124.7	86.0