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Shaded-relief map of Big Lake, Alaska: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
ALASKA · MATANUSKA-SUSITNA BOROUGH

Big Lake

3,833 people, 170 ft above sea level in Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

170 ftElevation, city center
3,833People, 2024 estimate
115 sq miLand area
Sunny 23°
Sunny now Dew point 22° · Calm · high 25°
City of Big Lake River Interstate 2 miles
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The Big Lake 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 Big Lake

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 2:00 PM AKST
RIGHT NOW Birchwood Airport (PABV) · 2:56 PM
Sunny
23° Sunny Feels like 23° · high of 25° near 3 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity96%rising to 100% by morning
Pressure29.33 in →steady
Visibility4 mihazy
CloudsClear
UV index0none after dark
Dew point 22° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Snow
Tonight, around midnightin about 9 hours · 37% chance · rain
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 110.03 in · 3 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
! Dense Fog AdvisoryDense Fog Advisory issued November 14 at 12:03PM AKST until November 14 at 6:00PM AKST by NWS Anchorage AK
NWS Anchorage and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 3:16 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 9:05 AM4:23 PM ↓
7 h 18 m of daylight, 5 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 27% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
37
GOODAir quality index · fine particles
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
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
3p
6p
9p
Mid
3a
6a
9a
Noon
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
overcast
overcast
overcast
overcast
overcast
overcast
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
25°
20°
26°
26°
32°
27°
CHANCE OF RAIN
57% · 0.02 in Sunday morning 50%
WIND, MPH
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
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0
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 18 to 29°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 80° / 62°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
25° 18°
20% rain — NW 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Chance of showers Chance of showers
27° 21°
60% rain 0.01–0.1″ SW 0 A
MON Nov. 16 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
33° 25°
10% rain — E 0 C
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
31° 23°
0% rain — ESE 5 B
WED Nov. 18 Chance of showers Chance of showers
36° 29°
40% rain up to 0.1″ ENE 7 C
THU Nov. 19 Showers likely Showers likely
37° 25°
70% rain 0.01–0.5″ ESE 5 B
FRI Nov. 20 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
32° 21°
30% rain — ENE 5 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 Big Lake about 5,000 feet above the ground was over a point about 280 miles to the southwest three days ago, and over the Gulf of Alaska a day ago, about 450 miles back along its path. Most of the nine paths traced from around the city agree. Near the ground the air came from southcentral Alaska; at 10,000 feet, from a point about 730 miles to the northwest. It feels dry all the same. 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 2014 Nov. 12, 2014

The hottest this week has been

52° on Nov. 12, 2014, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1917. Next is 51° in 1964.

51°
52°
19642014
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Matanuska Experimental Farm record since 1917.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Big Lake stands on

Big Lake’s center stands about 170 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 130 ft to 290 ft, a difference of 160 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Radar Hill, about 380 ft, 15 miles north-northwest.

Big Lake, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
0 ft250 ft500 ft750 ft1,000 ft BIG LAKE170 ftHouston280 ftHigh point of the line1,060 ft ← SN →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 18×.

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

Big Lake’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1917 · Matanuska Experimental Farm, 19 mi east

Big Lake has a dry-summer subarctic climate. Summer afternoons average 68° in July; winter nights fall to about 7° in January. A normal year brings about 50 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 14 inches of water.

23°7°29°12°34°16°48°29°59°38°66°46°68°51°65°48°57°40°43°27°29°14°25°10° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY BIG LAKE 14.4 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average68° / 51°high / low, the warmest month
January, average23° / 7°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow14.4 inwettest months: August and September
Snow a year49.5 insnowiest: December
Hottest on record91°FJune 17, 1936
Coldest on record−41°FFebruary 5, 1999
Wettest day on record2.48 inSeptember 9, 1925
Snowiest day on record18.0 inNovember 19, 1964
Nights at or below 32°193and 95 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeDry-summer subarcticKöppen Dsc

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Sept. 22, to the last in spring, about May 17 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingNov. 5 to March 10; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingOct. 7 to April 24; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchJuly through September: 6.7 of the year’s 14.4 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Big Lake normally reaches 29° and falls to 14°. The record high is 47°, in 2000; the record low −13°, in 1918. The most rain on this date, 0.26 in, fell in 2022.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high23°29°34°48°59°66°68°65°57°43°29°25°
Normal low7°12°16°29°38°46°51°48°40°27°14°10°
Rain and melt, in0.810.780.520.350.721.221.922.482.321.390.841.02
Snow, inches9.29.07.61.40.50.00.00.00.03.88.19.9
Record high57° (2014)56° (2007)65° (1934)73° (2005)83° (1947)91° (1936)88° (2019)87° (1968)75° (1957)69° (1923)58° (1936)55° (1934)
Record low−40° (1989)−41° (1999)−30° (1956)−16° (1944)8° (1945)27° (1947)31° (1934)27° (1947)15° (1992)−11° (1982)−26° (1990)−37° (1964)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1917 at Matanuska Experimental Farm, 19 miles east. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Big Lake on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Knik-Fairview AK · 12 MI 12 miles east Anchorage AK · 33 MI 33 miles southeast
FORECASTCITY
Map of Big Lake, Alaska. Explore the plate
ALASKA · MATANUSKA-SUSITNA

Big Lake

3,833 people, 170 ft above sea level in Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

170 ftElevation
3,833People
115 sq miLand
Sunny 23°
SunnyDew point 22°
1

Today in Big Lake

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly cloudy day 25° 0%
6p mostly cloudy night 21° 0%
9p overcast 20° 3%
12a snow 20° 37%
3a overcast 20° 7%
6a snow 21° 39%
Snow
NEXT RAINTonight around midnight · 37%
→
Sat20%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
18
25
A
Sun60%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
21
27
A
Mon10%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
25
33
C
Tue0%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
23
31
B
Wed40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
29
36
C
Thu70%
Showers likely Showers likely
25
37
B
Fri30%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
21
32
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 2014 · NOV. 12, 2014

52°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1917.

2

What Big Lake stands on

Big Lake’s center stands about 170 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 130 ft to 290 ft, a difference of 160 ft: gently rolling country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Radar Hill, about 380 ft, 15 miles north-northwest.

Big Lake, south to north Big Lake170 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 35×.
Elevation, center170 ft
Within 3 miles130 to 290 ft
Lie of the landGently rolling (160 ft of relief)
High point nearbyRadar Hill, 380 ft, 15 mi north-northwest
5

Big Lake’s year

Big Lake has a dry-summer subarctic climate. Summer afternoons average 68° in July; winter nights fall to about 7° in January. A normal year brings about 50 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 14 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 14.4 in
July, average68° / 51° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average23° / 7° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow14.4 in · wettest months: August and September
Snow a year49.5 in · snowiest: December
Hottest on record91°F · June 17, 1936
Coldest on record−41°F · February 5, 1999
Wettest day on record2.48 in · September 9, 1925
Snowiest day on record18.0 in · November 19, 1964
Nights at or below 32°193 · and 95 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeDry-summer subarctic · Köppen Dsc
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Sept. 22, to the last in spring, about May 17 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Nov. 5 to March 10; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Oct. 7 to April 24; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · July through September: 6.7 of the year’s 14.4 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Big Lake normally reaches 29° and falls to 14°. The record high is 47°, in 2000; the record low −13°, in 1918. The most rain on this date, 0.26 in, fell in 2022.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1917 at Matanuska Experimental Farm, 19 miles east. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.