Fall in Alaska
Jun 19, 2019 12:06:21 #
Will appreciate any recommendations as to the likely best two weeks to visit Alaska in the fall, around the Anchorage area. Consider weather and fall foliage.
Jun 19, 2019 12:38:50 #
Haven't been there but found a link that might help...... Sounds like no later than September.....
http://www.alaska.org/advice/best-time-to-visit-alaska
http://www.alaska.org/advice/alaska-in-september
http://www.alaska.org/advice/best-time-to-visit-alaska
http://www.alaska.org/advice/alaska-in-september
Jun 19, 2019 13:39:32 #
First 2 weeks of September. They should be getting termination snow by then. (snow on the mountains that warns of termination of good weather for the year)
Jun 20, 2019 06:19:52 #
billnikon
Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
tisrjtisrj1 wrote:
Will appreciate any recommendations as to the likely best two weeks to visit Alaska in the fall, around the Anchorage area. Consider weather and fall foliage.
Trip advisor.com
Jun 20, 2019 07:57:26 #
When I was there, the termination snow was snow that would keep advancing down and not melt; the termination of autumn. They can have good weather no matter the season...
Jun 20, 2019 08:02:03 #
I went to Fairbanks on a business trip in February once. There were about 100 participants in an event and they had to ship some rental cars up from Anchorage.
Anchorage gets warm ocean currents coming up from California. The cars they shipped to Fairbanks didn't have snow tires because they didn't need them in Anchorage.
The snow may be in the mountains, but it doesn't impact the city all that much.
Anchorage gets warm ocean currents coming up from California. The cars they shipped to Fairbanks didn't have snow tires because they didn't need them in Anchorage.
The snow may be in the mountains, but it doesn't impact the city all that much.
Jun 20, 2019 08:23:23 #
mikegreenwald
Loc: Illinois
Implied but not stated above, weather and conditions vary a great deal from year to year. I’ve been to the area several times beginning around thirty five years ago, but not in the last ten. Latitude matters, and time of day matters as the light changes quickly throughout the daylight hours. As for autumn color, you may be a bit disappointed if you’ve spent time in places like New England. Just the same, the vistas are immense and overwhelming, and time spent wandering around with a camera can be rewarding.
Jun 20, 2019 10:05:22 #
BurghByrd
Loc: Pittsburgh
I lived there briefly in Anchorage many years ago. Seasons change very quickly there so the advice to go in early to mid September is good advice. Conifers predominate so you will not get the colors normally associated with fall. However, the landscape is awsome and provides many photo opportunites . Enjoy your visit to the last wilderness!
Jun 20, 2019 12:42:44 #
I took an Alaska tour a couple of years ago the first two weeks of September. Snow was not yet staying on the distant mountains (in the Anchorage area), but I agree with others here that the seasons vary, just as they do in the lower 48. Others are correct also in letting you know that the Anchorage area is not the most colorful part of the state in autumn. (I lived there many years ago). You might consider the second and third week of Sept. for a visit. Denali NP usually closes for the season around the second week in Sept.
Jun 20, 2019 13:12:23 #
Jun 20, 2019 15:00:51 #
North of Anchorage fall colors start first week of September, should have dusting of snow on the higher peaks, locally called Termination Dust (time to terminate the visit and head “outside.”) Usually have fall colors through third week of September. Will be cloudy with rain.
South of Anchorage a couple of weeks later for the colors. Enjoy.
South of Anchorage a couple of weeks later for the colors. Enjoy.
Jun 20, 2019 15:49:41 #
Jun 20, 2019 19:10:15 #
tisrjtisrj1 wrote:
Will appreciate any recommendations as to the likely best two weeks to visit Alaska in the fall, around the Anchorage area. Consider weather and fall foliage.
The first two weeks in September are best for the fall colors. Later summer and the early fall tend to have more rain but this varies from year to year. Anchorage had a record rain fall for May and the third warmest March. Take a day or overnight trip to Seward, pretty of great sights. Going north towards Fairbanks is scenic but may be out of your way. If you can swing it, my favorite trip over Labor Day weekend was to go north to Cantwell and drive across the Denali Highway to Paxson, down to Glennallen and then back to Anchorage. You can do this trip in the opposite direction.
You may be early, but arctic and trumpeter swans migrate though Anchorage in September/October. South of town there is Potter's Marsh where the swans rest up on their way south. The hillside behind the mash will turn to their fall colors and the setting sun gives a great warm glow.
Jun 20, 2019 19:36:41 #
TheShoe
Loc: Lacey, WA
DirtFarmer wrote:
Anchorage gets warm ocean currents coming up from California.
Anchorage gets warm ocean currents coming up from California.
Are there any? I think that the warm current affecting Anchorage and the south coast of Alaska is the Japan Current.
Jun 20, 2019 19:54:30 #
DirtFarmer wrote:
I went to Fairbanks on a business trip in February once. There were about 100 participants in an event and they had to ship some rental cars up from Anchorage.
Anchorage gets warm ocean currents coming up from California. The cars they shipped to Fairbanks didn't have snow tires because they didn't need them in Anchorage.
The snow may be in the mountains, but it doesn't impact the city all that much.
Anchorage gets warm ocean currents coming up from California. The cars they shipped to Fairbanks didn't have snow tires because they didn't need them in Anchorage.
The snow may be in the mountains, but it doesn't impact the city all that much.
Not quite true about snow only in the mountains. Anchorage had a record snowfall in the winter of 2011-2012, 133.6 inches. This would probably be a week of snow in the U.P. or Oswego, NY.
Drivers in Anchorage put on studded winter tires or softer rubber tires (Nokia) with aggressive grip. Car rental agencies DO NOT, they put on all season tires and run them all year round. People who come in the winter sometimes find out that you need to rent an AWD or 4x4 to get around during snowfalls.
The Pacific currents and Anchorage's proximity to Prince William Sound do have some affect on the weather. There will sometimes be chinook winds that bring in warm (40 F) temperatures, that wreck the ski trails and make the roads slippery. But these pass and the normal temperatures turn. In the winter 0f 2017, we had below freezing temperatures on most days from early February to late March.
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