In general, August will be one of the last months of the year when most people think about snow in Anchorage.
Average snowfall for this time of year is zero.
The official total for the month of August 2026 finished with a trace of snowfall.
The very last day of the month brought graupel into Anchorage.
Enough fell to record a “trace” (less than 1/10 of an inch).
That trace tied an August snowfall record which had stood since 1997.
How the month stayed close to normal
As a whole, the month remained close to its long-term averages.
At Anchorage International Airport, the average temperature for the entire month of August was 57.5°F.
This was perfectly normal compared to the 1991-2020 climatological normal.
The highest average temperature each day was 63.5° F.
The lowest average temperature each day was 51.4°F.
There were eleven days that exceeded average highs; twelve days that were less than average highs.
Eight days had temperatures that were no more than half a degree away from average.
August 2026 was the 27th warmest August in the history of Anchorage weather records.
It was also the 48th coolest August in the same history.
The highest temperature for the month was achieved on August 14 when the mercury hit 74°F.
The lowest temperature for the month was 40°F on August 30.
Neither reading reflected the snowfall record that would later be recorded on Aug. 31.
What happened on the final day
The National Weather Service Anchorage recorded a trace of snow on Aug. 31.
The “snow” fell as graupel. There was not enough to measure the actual amount of snowfall.
Regardless, it did enter the climate record.
It placed August 2026 alongside the August record set in 1997.
Aug. 31 also held another distinction: the biggest departure from normal temperature of any single day of the month.
Its temperature was a full 5.1 degrees below what normally occurs on that day of the year.
Aug. 31 now carries a snowfall reading of “Trace” in the Anchorage climate record.
That matches the previous Trace from 1997.
Why the precipitation totals remained low
While graupel was seen in August 2026, it was not a particularly wet month.
Anchorage received approximately 1.35 inches of precipitation during the month of August.
The long-term average is 2.93 inches.
The month finished well below the long-term average for precipitation.
Only 12 Augusts in the climate record have been drier.
The largest amount of precipitation for any single day occurred on August 28 and totaled .24 inches.
Only .20 inches fell on the second wettest day.
No day recorded an inch or more of precipitation throughout the month.
Rain was present almost every other day.
Twenty-two days saw some form of rain fall.
Fourteen days saw measurable amounts of rain.
The month finished well below the long-term average for precipitation, ranking as the 13th driest August in the period of record.
Why a trace was enough for the record
The amount itself was small, registering only a trace of snowfall in the official climate record.
No measurable snowfall is normally recorded during the month. August climate records rarely contain snowfall entries.
That made the Aug 31 observation unusual from the moment it entered the climate record.
The trace matched the only other August snowfall entry in the climate record.
It also added another record entry to Anchorage’s 2026 climate statistics.
Viewed as a whole, August 2026 was neither unusually warm nor unusually cold.
The average temperature finished exactly at normal.
Precipitation finished below normal.
The month followed a fairly ordinary path until its final day.
Then graupel briefly turned parts of Anchorage white.
Even that trace was enough to tie the record.
The climate record now contains two August snowfall entries.
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