NOAA GHCND · LIVE
Beyond the Forecast

August 1 in Anchorage

Weather forecasts run out after about two weeks. For any date further out than that, the honest answer isn't a single number — it's the range Anchorage actually delivers on this date, and how often.

On August 1, Anchorage, AK typically reaches 71°F, but has run anywhere from 66°F to 78°F in eight years out of ten. About 57% of August 1s see no measurable precipitation.

Daytime high71°F
66°F8 years in 10 land in here78°F
Overnight low55°F
50°F8 years in 10 land in here59°F

The odds on August 1

57%
Dry day
No measurable precipitation

Odds computed from the last 30 years (19962025).

This date is moving

Highs around August 1 have warmed about 1.6°F per decade since 1970 — roughly 8.7°F across the record. The figures above are shifted along that trend to 2025, so they describe today's climate rather than the average of the last 55 years.

Where this comes from: 356 daily observations from ELMENDORF AFB, covering 19702025. We pool every day within 7 days of August 1 — a single calendar date has only about 55 readings, far too few to place a 10th percentile you'd want to trust.

Why it's not a plain average: A climatology computed straight across 19702025 describes the middle of that period, not today, so as a statement about the present it runs cold. We fit a trend on year and shift each observation to 2025 before taking the range. The probabilities use the last 30 years instead — shifting a temperature along a trend is well defined, shifting “did it rain” is not.

What this is not: Not a forecast. It is what Anchorage, AK has actually done on this date, which is the only defensible answer once you're past the two-week horizon where real forecasts stop. Data: NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily.

📬 Free weekly newsletter

This week in weather history.

Five notable weather anniversaries from the week ahead — deadliest tornadoes, record temps, historic storms — every Sunday. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

4,200+ readers · Sunday delivery