Best month for weather in alaska

[ren0312]

What is the best month for weather in Alaska? When I went in early Aug. the airplane and helicopter tours were constantly being cancelled due to fog and low cloud ceiling?

[Cruizer Bill]

People really love May. Lots of wildlife. Weather is cool but clear.

[Crew News]

Another vote for early May.

[sppunk]

Week before and of Memorial Day.

[Aegis1984]

Took a 7 day cruise from Vancouver in early Sept.

 

Embarkation day was cloudy until 2:00 then became sunny. 1st sea day was cloudy, the morning was foggy. Juneau was cloudy but the cloud cover burned off by 1 and it was mixed sun and cloud into the evening. Skagway was cloudy all day. Glacier bay was foggy first thing, and cloudy the whole day. Ketchikan of all places was sunny, and the last sea day was sunny. Your mileage may vary.

 

Trying out late August this time around.

[Foggy Bay]

What is the best month for weather in Alaska? When I went in early Aug. the airplane and helicopter tours were constantly being cancelled due to fog and low cloud ceiling?

 

I lived in S.E. Alaska (Sitka and Ketchikan) for 20 years. Southeast is a rain forest, so you risk rain at any time (Ketchikan averages about 160 in. a year). May, June and July are your best bets--some years are wonderful all summer long, some are horrid all summer long--May, from what I understand is less expensive from a cruise standpoint, so that might be your best bet, but I would lean toward the latter part of the month. The king fishing is good in late May and June too. :)

 

The airplane and helo tours being cancelled are with safety in mind, of course. There are so many great things to do and places to see in Ketchikan, Sitka and Juneau even if it's raining!

[xlxo]

What is the best month for weather in Alaska? When I went in early Aug. the airplane and helicopter tours were constantly being cancelled due to fog and low cloud ceiling?

I too found August to be too wet for my preference...

 

• May to July is dryer in Alaska. August will start seeing rain, September is best for storm chasers.
  
• July to August to best for Cascadia. As a result July appears to be the best all around travel time for dryer port times.
  
• May and September offers the best savings, but the weather is either colder or wetter.
  
• September will offer less sunlight, especially if your cruise includes Victoria as a port.
  
• Are you going to Tracy Arm? May may have ice congestion, limiting the 31 mile journey to see Sawyer.
  

[kjw869]

May. In seven straight Alaska cruises, it has rained only two of those days for a couple hours.

 

A friend who has lived in Juneau suggested years ago that we cruise in May before the rainy and fog hits the area.

[Keith1010]

Well after many Alaska Cruises I have learned that there is no best month.

 

You just don't know what the weather will be like hour to hour, day to day or even year over year.

 

The advantage of going early in the season is often less ships in port and less children. Late in the season is similar although you have shorter daylight hours and a higher chance of rain.

 

I am reminded though of being the first ship in Alaska by three weeks in 2012. We were warned that the weather might be bad and it did snow in one of the ports but we thought that was nice. As it turned out, our day in Glacier Bay was picture prefect and the most magical day of any of our previous saplings. That was in April. A week later, who knows or even the following year. Could have been dreary.

 

These are photos from that magical day.

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AqQs3TEBbcw/T4hXuRKXz2I/AAAAAAAAQqA/XoAXQVQwILM/s1600/DSC_4194.jpg

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0UdF6OlPUIM/T4hXwxtIOwI/AAAAAAAAQqI/hjUyFoGaF1s/s1600/DSC_4195.jpg

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mTmVft3ZsvM/T4hXzUcluzI/AAAAAAAAQqQ/8lSPPiYBb0A/s1600/DSC_4196.jpg

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eJ_N-HHz2dI/T4idcb-8oHI/AAAAAAAAQrU/YJ-_LyrFd2Y/s1600/DSC_4203.jpg

 

And this was a view when we were there eight months earlier. You just never know.

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0W4_iLsCPL8/TlFx3vuXnFI/AAAAAAAAKQ4/uvMmkLmzDJE/s1600/DSC_0539.jpg

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done Alaska all months of their season. We found May to be a terrible month. Poured rain and many tours were all cancelled in the ports.

Same thing with the end of August and the first part of September -- cold and rainy.

We have experienced better weather from the middle of June through the first week of August.

Weather is unpredictable.

[propwash]

We went out of Seattle the 3rd week of June 2002 and only saw the sun when we left Seattle and when we returned. The whole trip was overcast. When we left the inland passage and was going to Hubbard Bay we have 18 ft swells and gale force winds. A lot of sea sickness.

Danny

[Cinder Again]

You can have rain and fog anytime, but I remember a native Alaskan told me right around July 4th is their driest time. But again, prepare for the worst, enjoy the best! I've been four times, covering the entire cruising season, and only had serious rain once, and I actually think it was that July 4th trip! ;-)

[RuthC]

Well after many Alaska Cruises I have learned that there is no best month.

 

You just don't know what the weather will be like hour to hour, day to day or even year over year.

^^^^^ This ^^^^^

 

I have cruised to Alaska 8 times, including two land tours, plus some port stops there on a repositioning cruise. Those visits have spanned May through September. I have had great weather, and terrible weather, in every single one of those months---sometimes on the same trip.

 

Go when it's most convenient for you. Mid-late June is nice because of the longer days.

[Copper10-8]

June-July-early to mid- August

[Cuizer2]

What is the best month for weather in Alaska? When I went in early Aug. the airplane and helicopter tours were constantly being cancelled due to fog and low cloud ceiling?

 

Based on my experience, all the months have weather. I went in July and the weather was perfect. YMMV.

[UPNYGuy]

I must admit that I *love those foggy days! It adds a level of mystique and beauty. Although I do admit that we do not partake in any of the flight seeing excursions ;)

[djg541]

Weather in Alaska is a crap shoot,much like in NH where we live.

We did a 2 week Alaska cruise some years ago via the Amsterdam in late May to early June and the weather was amazingly good. Even Ketchican was only cloudy but no rain.

Homer was overcast,drizzle,but that was the worst weather of the whole trip.

There are no guarantees on weather that far north so be prepared for the worst and hope for the best.

Also realize,mid June thru mid August is school summer vacation time. We went end of May so no packs of roving urchins.

If your doing a family trip...summer months would be best for the kids.

[Rowsby]

We have gone twice in early May....and had great weather....:)

[Cruise_More_Often]

We've gone three times, all in May, and based upon the weather we've encountered so far, we are planning our fourth in May 2017. We have seen very little rain, some fog and cold temperatures, so Alaska looks like I had imagined it would. And, no mosquitoes!

[Foggy Bay]

Weather in Alaska is a crap shoot...

 

Haha! Exactly. As a 30 year resident of Alaska, 20 in SE living on a boat, crap shoot sums it up. I didn't want to use the word "crap" in my post so was more gentle in my response.

 

It always cracks me up when people say, "Oh, our weather was perfect the whole time!" My brain goes, "Really???" but my mouth goes, "Oh! That's great!" It can be fabulous, and it can be dreadful. In every case, it's magnificent!

[antmaril]

I have cruised to Alaska twice. The first time we went at the end of August and had beautiful weather every day. The second time, we traveled at the end of June and it was cold and rainy most days. So, I would say that the weather in Alaska is a crapshoot.

 

Enjoy! It is spectacular whatever the weather!

[svalbard]

Based on experience living in SE Alaska for a lifetime, I'd go for June. Usually ok weather, long days, and the people in the towns aren't burned out.

[Cruiser 4 Life 66]

I went in early May. Juneau was OK, it actually got up to 60 degrees that day. Still some snow at the top of mountains. Skagway was still quite cold. No snow in town there, but when we took the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad north to Canada there was still a lot of snow as we got close to Canada. Ketchikan was rainy as usual, but not that cold.

[FloridaTourist]

I have been to Alaska several times. Only once on a cruise and than many times after my son moved there. Earlier in the summer is better but Alaska is very unpredictable. Also depends on what you want to do there. One of our priorities was to take a helicopter to the top of a glacier and go dog sledding. If you don't do that in June the chances are it will be to warm later in the summer. Doing a sled on wheels was not an option. We wanted the real thing, a once in a life time experience. So select based on what you want to do and just plan the weather will be moist.

[Old As Dirt Mom]

We have done something like 12+ Alaska cruises over a 10-year period (I've lost track, but we live in Seattle, so it's easy for us to do an Alaska itinerary, from either Seattle or Vancouver). We have cruised to Alaska in every month from May through August, and done a few Pacific coastal trips in September. As is obvious from previous responses, Alaska weather is quite variable. Typically, the end of May through late June has been the driest in our experience, with the longest hours of daylight. July can be hot and sunny, and also cool and rainy. August is yet a little more unreliable; I have experienced more fog in this time frame. September I rule out completely for Alaska due to reduced hours of daylight, plus it's much cooler and wetter. Do you see a pattern, or lack of one?:D

 

We often opt for late May, both in terms of cost and dry weather. Later in the season can be optimal for other reasons, ie wildlife spotting, but we like earlier in the season.

 

edited to add that my response is based solely on criteria related to cruising to Alaska, not land-based trips, and there are all kinds of reasons and preferences for visiting Alaska that don't necessarily depend on having picture-perfect weather :-)

Edited December 16, 2015 by middle-aged mom