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Shaded-relief map of Bettles, Alaska: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
ALASKA · YUKON-KOYUKUK CENSUS AREA

Bettles

24 people, 640 ft above sea level in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area.

640 ftElevation, city center
24People, 2024 estimate
2 sq miLand area
Clear 26°
Clear now Dew point 22° · N 3 mph · high 23°
City of Bettles River Interstate 1 miles
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The Bettles plate. Relief from Copernicus GLO-30; rivers and lakes from USGS NHD; watersheds from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset; roads and city limits from Census TIGER 2024.

MILE1
TODAY

Today in Bettles

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 9:00 AM AKST
RIGHT NOW Bettles Airport (PABT) · 9:53 AM
Clear
26° Clear Feels like 22° · high of 23° near 2 PM
WindN 3 mphno gusts
Humidity84%falling to 88% this afternoon
Pressure29.43 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index0none after dark
Dew point 22° · Dry13° by Sunday: drier air arrives
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Overcast
Today, about 2 PMin about 3 hours · 70% chance · rain
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAIN—none in 31 days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
! Winter Weather AdvisoryWinter Weather Advisory issued November 14 at 4:20AM AKST until November 14 at 9:00PM AKST by NWS Fairbanks AK
! Winter Weather AdvisoryWinter Weather Advisory issued November 14 at 4:20AM AKST until November 14 at 9:00PM AKST by NWS Fairbanks AK
NWS Fairbanks and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 10:45 AM
SUN & MOON
↑ 10:00 AM3:41 PM ↓
5 h 40 m of daylight, 8 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 25% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
—
Air quality index ·
No pollen source yet.

The next three days, hour by hour

Sky: clear, cloudy, night Rain likely National Blend of Models
SATURDAY, NOV. 14
SUNDAY, NOV. 15
MONDAY, NOV. 16
TUESDAY, NOV. 17
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
10a
1p
4p
7p
10p
1a
4a
7a
overcast
snow
overcast
overcast
overcast
overcast
overcast
overcast
snow
rain
overcast
overcast
snow
snow
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
TEMPERATURE °F
20°
23°
16°
20°
22°
23°
20°
CHANCE OF RAIN
70% · 0.07 in Saturday afternoon 50%
WIND, MPH
6
5
3
2
0
0
0
3
5
5
5
3
3
3
3
4
4
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 13 to 22°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 7° / -7°
SAT Nov. 14 Showers likely Showers likely
23° 16°
70% rain — NNE 5 A
SUN Nov. 15 Chance of showers Chance of showers
21° 19°
40% rain up to 0.08″ N 5 C
MON Nov. 16 Chance of showers Chance of showers
24° 19°
40% rain up to 0.1″ NNE 3 C
TUE Nov. 17 Chance of showers Chance of showers
21° 14°
40% rain — NE 5 C
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
21° 16°
0% rain — NE 7 C
THU Nov. 19 Chance of showers Chance of showers
23° 16°
30% rain up to 0.09″ NE 5 C
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
21° 14°
40% rain up to 0.06″ NNE 2 C
How sure are we? AModels agree: highs within 4° BSome spread: within 8° CWide spread: check back
Range from the National Blend of Models percentiles · graded on Forecast Scores
AIR MAIL

Where today’s air came from

The air arriving over Bettles about 5,000 feet above the ground was over a point about 8,480 miles to the east three days ago, and over interior Alaska a day ago, about 10,070 miles back along its path. It came down from about 10,100 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. It has stayed over land, which is why it feels dry. Traced back 72 hours through NOAA’s hourly RAP analyses and the GFS beyond them, nine paths at each of three heights.

THIS WEEK IN 1976 Nov. 13, 1976

The hottest this week has been

45° on Nov. 13, 1976, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1944. Next is 39° in 2014.

39°
45°
20141976
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Bettles Area threaded record since 1944.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Bettles stands on

Bettles’s center stands about 640 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 610 ft to 960 ft, a difference of 350 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Pope Creek Dome, about 3,460 ft, 11 miles east.

Bettles, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
1,000 ft2,000 ft BETTLES640 ftKoyukuk Riverabout 600 ftHigh point of the line2,820 ft ← WE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 9×.

Heights from Copernicus GLO-90 (a surface model: it includes buildings and tree canopy); summits from USGS GNIS; rivers from USGS NHDPlus HR.
MILE5
THE ALMANAC

Bettles’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1944 · Bettles Airport

Bettles has a subarctic climate. Summer afternoons average 70° in June; winter nights fall to about −19° in January. A normal year brings about 98 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 16 inches of water.

−2°−19°7°−13°17°−9°36°13°56°34°70°47°70°49°63°43°50°33°28°14°8°−7°2°−14° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY BETTLES 16.0 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
June, average70° / 47°high / low, the warmest month
January, average−2° / −19°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow16.0 inwettest months: August and July
Snow a year97.9 insnowiest: November
Hottest on record93°FJuly 6, 1986
Coldest on record−70°FJanuary 4, 1975
Wettest day on record2.96 inAugust 17, 1994
Snowiest day on record19.0 inJanuary 22, 1965
Nights at or below 32°239and 177 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeSubarcticKöppen Dfc

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Aug. 23, to the last in spring, about May 24 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingOct. 12 to April 11; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingSept. 17 to May 12; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchJuly through September: 7.2 of the year’s 16.0 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Bettles normally reaches 7° and falls to −7°. The record high is 32°, in 1976; the record low −51°, in 1956. The most rain on this date, 0.65 in, fell in 1965.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high−2°7°17°36°56°70°70°63°50°28°8°2°
Normal low−19°−13°−9°13°34°47°49°43°33°14°−7°−14°
Rain and melt, in0.870.960.610.600.891.462.322.712.131.171.151.14
Snow, inches14.015.99.35.21.00.00.00.03.212.019.118.2
Record high42° (1961)40° (1977)49° (1998)66° (2010)86° (1983)92° (1999)93° (1986)88° (1994)79° (1957)59° (2018)45° (1976)38° (2017)
Record low−70° (1975)−64° (1999)−56° (1964)−39° (2021)−10° (1952)27° (1960)29° (1959)15° (2013)0° (2010)−35° (1992)−57° (1974)−60° (2019)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1944 from the Bettles Area threaded record (Bettles Airport, here). NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Bettles on the Forecast Network

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FORECASTCITY
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ALASKA · YUKON-KOYUKUK

Bettles

24 people, 640 ft above sea level in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area.

640 ftElevation
24People
2 sq miLand
Clear 26°
ClearDew point 22°
1

Today in Bettles

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now overcast 20° 2%
1p overcast 22° 26%
4p snow 23° 68%
7p overcast 21° 0%
10p overcast 20° 0%
1a overcast 19° 0%
Overcast
NEXT RAINToday about 2 PM · 70%
→
Sat70%
Showers likely Showers likely
16
23
A
Sun40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
19
21
C
Mon40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
19
24
C
Tue40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
14
21
C
Wed0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
16
21
C
Thu30%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
16
23
C
Fri40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
14
21
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1976 · NOV. 13, 1976

45°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1944.

2

What Bettles stands on

Bettles’s center stands about 640 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 610 ft to 960 ft, a difference of 350 ft: rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Pope Creek Dome, about 3,460 ft, 11 miles east.

Bettles, west to east Bettles640 ftKoyukuk Riverabout 600 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 16×.
Elevation, center640 ft
Within 3 miles610 to 960 ft
Lie of the landRolling (350 ft of relief)
High point nearbyPope Creek Dome, 3,460 ft, 11 mi east
5

Bettles’s year

Bettles has a subarctic climate. Summer afternoons average 70° in June; winter nights fall to about −19° in January. A normal year brings about 98 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 16 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 16.0 in
June, average70° / 47° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average−2° / −19° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow16.0 in · wettest months: August and July
Snow a year97.9 in · snowiest: November
Hottest on record93°F · July 6, 1986
Coldest on record−70°F · January 4, 1975
Wettest day on record2.96 in · August 17, 1994
Snowiest day on record19.0 in · January 22, 1965
Nights at or below 32°239 · and 177 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeSubarctic · Köppen Dfc
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Aug. 23, to the last in spring, about May 24 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Oct. 12 to April 11; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Sept. 17 to May 12; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · July through September: 7.2 of the year’s 16.0 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Bettles normally reaches 7° and falls to −7°. The record high is 32°, in 1976; the record low −51°, in 1956. The most rain on this date, 0.65 in, fell in 1965.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1944 from the Bettles Area threaded record (Bettles Airport, here). NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.