Alaska’s massive size spans multiple distinct climate zones, meaning there is no single answer to how much snow it receives each year. Its weather patterns range from mild coastal rainforests to arid Arctic tundra, creating extreme diversity in annual precipitation. Snowfall totals are hyper-local, determined more by proximity to the ocean and the presence of colossal mountain ranges than by latitude. The difference between a coastal city and one just a few hundred miles inland can be measured in hundreds of inches of snow.
The Drivers of Regional Snowfall Variation
The volume of snowfall across Alaska is governed by three major geographic and climatic factors that define the state’s regions. The Maritime/Coastal zone, which includes the Panhandle and Southcentral regions, experiences the highest snowfall due to the Pacific Ocean. Warm, moist air masses move off the Pacific and collide with the massive coastal mountains, such as the Chugach and Coast Ranges. This orographic lifting forces the air to rise and cool rapidly, causing the moisture to condense and fall as heavy snow on the windward slopes and valleys.
The Continental/Interior zone, where cities like Fairbanks are located, is characterized by its distance from the ocean’s moderating and moistening influence. This results in a climate with extremely cold temperatures but a significantly lower moisture content in the air. The snow that does fall here is typically light and dry, but the cold temperatures ensure a highly durable snowpack that lasts for months.
The third zone is the Arctic/Tundra, exemplified by the northern coast. While this region is the coldest, it actually receives the least amount of snow. This seemingly paradoxical outcome is explained by the relationship between temperature and atmospheric moisture. Extremely cold air can hold only minimal amounts of water vapor, meaning that the air is profoundly dry, which limits the potential for heavy snowfall events.
Annual Averages for Key Alaskan Cities
The climatic regions translate directly into widely varying average annual snowfall totals across Alaska’s major population centers, based on data collected from 1991 to 2020.
- Anchorage, the state’s largest city and a hub of the Southcentral region, receives a moderate average of 77.9 inches of snow each year. This total is influenced by its location in the sheltered Cook Inlet.
- Fairbanks, in the Interior, has a slightly lower average annual snowfall of 59.6 inches. This reflects the continental climate where cold temperatures predominate, but the lack of moisture limits the total accumulation.
- Juneau, the capital city located in the Maritime Panhandle, records a much higher average of 87.6 inches per year. Its proximity to the Pacific and the surrounding mountains ensures a steady supply of moisture throughout the winter season.
- The city of Valdez, situated on Prince William Sound, is a clear outlier among populated areas. Valdez averages a massive 325.3 inches of snow annually, more than four times the average for Anchorage, illustrating the extreme impact of coastal geography.
Historical Extremes and Record Accumulations
While average figures provide a baseline, Alaska is also defined by its historical extremes. The most dramatic figures are found in mountain passes that directly intercept moisture-laden Pacific storms. Thompson Pass, a mountain gap near Valdez, is widely recognized for holding the state’s most extreme snow records.
The pass has an estimated annual average snowfall that can exceed 500 inches, or over 40 feet of snow. It also holds the Alaskan record for the most snow recorded in a single season. During the winter of 1952–1953, Thompson Pass accumulated a staggering 974.1 inches, which is over 81 feet.
The pass also holds the Alaska record for the most snow to fall in a single day: 62 inches on December 29, 1955. These figures are not representative of a typical winter in an Alaskan town but emphasize the sheer scale of precipitation that the coastal mountain ranges receive due to the powerful combination of warm Pacific moisture and high-elevation topography.