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	Anchorage weather Mostly Cloudy Temp: 66° Humidity: 56% Wind: SSE 6 mph Press: 29.58 in. Vis: 10 mi. Sun: Next sunrise 6:26 a.m. Next sunset 9:36 p.m. Anchorage 5 day forecast Elsewhere in Alaska Adak Ambler Anaktuvuk Pass Anaik Arctic Village Atka Barrow Barter island Beluga Bethel Bettles Big Delta Birchwood Cantwell Chandalar Lake Circle Cold Bay College Cordova Deadhorse Deering Delta Junction Denali Park Dillingham Dutch Harbor Eagle Egegik Eareckson AFS Eielson AFB Elfin Cove Emmonak Eureka Fairbanks Farewell Lake Fort Yukon Galbraith Lk. Galena Glennallen Gulkana Golovin Gustavus Haines Healy Homer Hoonah Hooper Bay Huslia Hydaburg Iliamna Kake Kaltag Kenai Koyuk Juneau Ketchikan Kiana King Salmon Klawock Kodiak Kotzebue Lake Clark NP Manley Hot Springs McCarthy McGrath McKinley Park Mekoryuk Merrill Pass W. Metlakatla Minchumina Nabesna Nenana Noatak Nome Northway Nuiqsut Palmer Paxson Petersburg Point Hope Point Lay Point Alsworth Port Heiden Portage Prospect Creek Prudhoe Bay Puntilla Red Dog Mine Saint Paul Sand Point Savoonga Selawik Seldovia Seward Sheep Mountain Shemya Shishmaref Sitka Skagway Skwentna Slana Sleetmute Soldotna Sparrevohn Talkeetna Tanana Togiak Tok Ugnu Kuparuk Umiat Unalakleet Valdez Wainwright Wasilla Whittier Willow Wrangell Yakutat

Southcentral Alaska's climate is mild, sometimes wet

Summers are pleasant and winters are snowy

Alaska.com

Southcentral Alaska doesn't get as much rain as Southeast Alaska, but it gets a lot more snow. On the other hand, it has a lot more clear days.

When moisture-laden air blowing off the Gulf of Alaska meets the chilly Alaska, Chugach, Talkeetna, Wrangell and St. Elias ranges, precipitation happens. In July, August and September, especially along the Gulf coast, rain falls. In the winter, there's lots of snow. This is often most apparent along Prince William Sound. Valdez, for example, averages 303 inches -- 25 feet -- a year, and Whittier gets 250 inches.

Although so much snow requires shoveling and plowing in town, it's beloved by skiers and snowmachiners. Snow in the mountains feeds the glaciers and the myriad streams that salmon come home to. Snow and rain also nurture the lush coastal forests.

Blocked from the Gulf by mountains, Anchorage's official measuring station at the international airport gets only 70 inches.

The snow near sea level generally melts away by early May. When termination dust -- the first coating of mountaintop snow -- falls in late August or early September, Alaskans know winter isn't far away.

Summer sunlight in Anchorage lasts 19.5 hours at the June solstice. At the winter solstice, daylight lasts 5.5 hours.

Here are monthly averages -- high temperature, low temperature, precipitation (inches of rain and melted snow), snowfall and snow depth for Southcentral locations: Alyeska (Girdwood), Anchorage, Chitina, Cordova, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Glen Alps (Anchorage), Glennallen, Homer, Hope, Kenai, McCarthy, Moose Pass, Nabesna, Nikiski, Palmer, Seward, Skwentna, Talkeetna, Thompson Pass, Valdez, Wasilla and Whittier.

ALYESKA
(Resort in Girdwood, south of Anchorage on Seward Highway)
Period of record: 11/7/1963 to 12/31/2000

Average annual high temperature	Average annual low temperature	Average annual total precipitation	Average annual total snowfall
44.2	29.6	67.79	195.5

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Max temp	25.4	28.9	35.0	43.4	52.9	61.2	65.0	62.7	54.4	41.1	32.0	28.3
Min temp	13.9	16.2	19.8	27.7	35.8	43.4	48.0	46.2	39.0	28.1	20.5	17.0
Precip- tation	7.82	5.44	4.82	5.23	3.68	2.30	2.58	4.58	8.07	7.82	6.51	8.94
Snow- fall	29.6	32.3	32.5	12.3	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	13.1	27.2	48.3
Snow depth	25	32	36	25	3	0	0	0	0	2	7	19

ANCHORAGE
(Northern Cook Inlet, adjacent to Chugach Mountains)
Period of record: 4/1/1952 to 12/31/2000

Average annual high temperature	Average annual low temperature	Average annual total precipitation	Average annual total snowfall
42.9	28.9	15.71	70.6

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Max temp	21.4	25.6	32.9	43.5	54.8	62.3	65.2	63.2	55.0	40.3	27.9	22.4
Min temp	8.1	11.3	17.3	28.5	38.7	47.3	51.4	49.4	41.3	28.2	15.9	9.7
Precip- tation	0.74	0.83	0.61	0.55	0.68	1.02	1.87	2.70	2.63	1.89	1.10	1.08
Snow- fall	9.6	12.1	9.2	4.9	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	8.0	11.5	14.9
Snow depth	10	11	9	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	8