Alaska in May

[woodworker&knitter]

Weather is something that cannot be predicted especially that far in advance.

In 2009 on a cruise to Alaska in August, it was cold and rained every day.

Same cruise in 2012 left Vancouver May 5, sun was shining and it was warm except for Ketchikan.

May 2016 again off to Alaska perfect sunny weather, but I heard that the rest of the season was not very warm.

It's hit and miss, but no matter what the weather you will enjoy Alaska

[Sequim88]

Being it leaves from Seattle a little "south itinerary" local insight might be helpful. In May the upper air is still cool but with a lot more sunshine hours (above the clouds) it tends to cause more convection. So rather than the winter long low gray blanket of clouds and drizzle there are more sun breaks between brief heavy showers. So even within a few hours you can get anything - even pea size hail. On the other hand in late day rainbows are abundant - May is rainbow month. :cool:

 

Farther north in the SE panhandle is can be the same or still hanging on to winter drizzle. No way to predict even a few days out so it means preparing for anything. One thought is that with snow still on higher elevations any tour of Misty Fjords NP near Ketchikan could have spectacular waterfalls.

[Cruise_More_Often]

. . .

Farther north in the SE panhandle is can be the same or still hanging on to winter drizzle. No way to predict even a few days out so it means preparing for anything. One thought is that with snow still on higher elevations any tour of Misty Fjords NP near Ketchikan could have spectacular waterfalls.

 

So true. A few years back on a May cruise we took a Misty Fjords excursion. It was really misty, gorgeous, mysterious. I got some great photos. Last May we again booked the Misty Fjords excursion, hoping for some more great misty photos. We had full sun, no "misty" anywhere.

Edited October 26, 2016 by Cruise_More_Often

[just_cruising_along]

We have cruised to Alaska five times, three of these cruises have been in May. Dress in layers, don't forget your rain coat, hat, sunglasses and mittens. We were in Alaska this May and experienced sunshine, wind, fog, and rain. But no matter the weather, we enjoyed it. If you are interested in whale watching, May is a great time to see them in Auke Bay, Juneau.