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

Butte

3,589 people, 100 ft above sea level in Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

100 ftElevation, city center
3,589People, 2024 estimate
34 sq miLand area
Sunny 23°
Sunny now Dew point 20° · Calm · high 27°
City of Butte River Interstate 1 miles
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The Butte 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 Butte

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 1:00 PM AKST
RIGHT NOW Palmer Municipal Airport (PAAQ) · 1:53 PM
Sunny
23° Sunny Feels like 23° · high of 27° near 5 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity88%falling to 68% this afternoon
Pressure29.27 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index0none after dark
Dew point 20° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Wednesday40% chance · showers
LIKELY AMOUNT—amounts come within 3 days
LAST RAINNov. 100.31 in · 4 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 2:15 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 9:01 AM4:19 PM ↓
7 h 17 m of daylight, 5 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
48
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
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
2p
5p
8p
11p
2a
5a
8a
11a
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
overcast
overcast
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly sunny
TEMPERATURE °F
26°
22°
29°
30°
33°
27°
CHANCE OF RAIN
50%
WIND, MPH
0
0
0
3
5
5
3
3
3
6
6
10
12
10
8
7
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7
5
2
3
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0
0
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 18 to 25°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 28° / 15°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
27° 20°
30% rain — N 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
30° 25°
30% rain — ENE 3 C
MON Nov. 16 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
36° 26°
0% rain — ENE 7 C
TUE Nov. 17 Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
34° 23°
10% rain — E 5 B
WED Nov. 18 Chance of showers Chance of showers
37° 31°
40% rain up to 0.09″ ENE 21, gusts 30 B
THU Nov. 19 Showers likely Showers likely
38° 25°
60% rain up to 0.4″ ENE 13 B
FRI Nov. 20 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
32° 22°
30% rain — ENE 1 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 Butte about 5,000 feet above the ground was over interior Alaska three days ago, and over southcentral Alaska a day ago, about 420 miles back along its path. The nine paths traced from around the city fan out, so treat that as a best guess. It came down from about 12,800 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from the Gulf of Alaska; at 10,000 feet, from a point about 7,220 miles to the east. 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 2014 Nov. 11, 2014

The hottest this week has been

52° on Nov. 11, 2014, the hottest reading for this week of the year since 1969. Next is 49° in 1979.

49°
52°
19792014
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Ben'S Farm record since 1969.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Butte stands on

Butte’s center stands about 100 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 40 ft to 600 ft, a difference of 560 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Bold Peak, about 7,550 ft, 14 miles south-southeast.

Butte, cut in half from west to east

A section west to east, 24 miles through the town center
0 ft2,000 ft4,000 ft6,000 ft BUTTE100 ftLow point10 ftMatanuska Riverabout 40 ftBurnt Butte620 ftHigh point of the line6,090 ft ← WE →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 3×.

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

Butte’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1969 · Ben'S Farm, 4 mi west-northwest

Butte has a cold desert climate. Summer afternoons average 70° in July; winter nights fall to about 6° in January. Barely 0.0 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

21°6°28°12°34°17°49°29°61°38°68°46°70°50°66°48°57°41°42°29°28°14°23°9° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 TODAY BUTTE 0.0 in rain a year
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average70° / 50°high / low, the warmest month
January, average21° / 6°high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year0.0 inspread evenly through the year
Hottest on record90°FJune 15, 1969
Coldest on record−48°FJanuary 4, 1975
Wettest day on record1.97 inSeptember 20, 1995
Snowiest day on record13.0 inFebruary 6, 1993
Climate typeCold desertKöppen BWk

AROUND THE RING

1Highs below freezingNov. 2 to March 11; normal highs stay below 32°
2Lows below freezingOct. 10 to April 22; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Butte normally reaches 28° and falls to 14°. The record high is 43°, in 2016; the record low −18°, in 1973. The most rain on this date, 0.50 in, fell in 1986.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high21°28°34°49°61°68°70°66°57°42°28°23°
Normal low6°12°17°29°38°46°50°48°41°29°14°9°
Rain, inches0.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.000.00
Record high56° (2014)53° (1982)56° (1981)68° (1995)82° (1969)90° (1969)88° (2019)82° (2021)74° (1974)68° (1986)55° (1986)52° (1999)
Record low−48° (1975)−44° (1999)−33° (1971)−12° (1986)21° (2012)29° (1983)35° (1971)25° (1969)14° (1992)−15° (1982)−31° (1990)−35° (1980)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1969 at Ben'S Farm, 4 miles west-northwest. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Butte on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Knik-Fairview AK · 21 MI 21 miles west Anchorage AK · 27 MI 27 miles south
FORECASTCITY
Map of Butte, Alaska. Explore the plate
ALASKA · MATANUSKA-SUSITNA

Butte

3,589 people, 100 ft above sea level in Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

100 ftElevation
3,589People
34 sq miLand
Sunny 23°
SunnyDew point 20°
1

Today in Butte

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly cloudy day 26° 0%
5p mostly cloudy night 27° 0%
8p mostly cloudy night 26° 2%
11p overcast 25° 29%
2a mostly cloudy night 24° 6%
5a mostly cloudy night 23° 10%
Rain
NEXT RAINWednesday · 40%
→
Sat30%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
20
27
A
Sun30%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
25
30
C
Mon0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
26
36
C
Tue10%
Mostly sunny Mostly sunny
23
34
B
Wed40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
31
37
B
Thu60%
Showers likely Showers likely
25
38
B
Fri30%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
22
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. 11, 2014

52°, the hottest this week of the year has been since 1969.

2

What Butte stands on

Butte’s center stands about 100 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 40 ft to 600 ft, a difference of 560 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Bold Peak, about 7,550 ft, 14 miles south-southeast.

Butte, west to east Butte100 ftMatanuska Riverabout 40 ft ← WE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 6×.
Elevation, center100 ft
Within 3 miles40 to 600 ft
Lie of the landHilly (560 ft of relief)
High point nearbyBold Peak, 7,550 ft, 14 mi south-southeast
5

Butte’s year

Butte has a cold desert climate. Summer afternoons average 70° in July; winter nights fall to about 6° in January. Barely 0.0 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 12 0.0 in
July, average70° / 50° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average21° / 6° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year0.0 in · spread evenly through the year
Hottest on record90°F · June 15, 1969
Coldest on record−48°F · January 4, 1975
Wettest day on record1.97 in · September 20, 1995
Snowiest day on record13.0 in · February 6, 1993
Climate typeCold desert · Köppen BWk
1Highs below freezing · Nov. 2 to March 11; normal highs stay below 32°
2Lows below freezing · Oct. 10 to April 22; normal lows fall below 32°
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Butte normally reaches 28° and falls to 14°. The record high is 43°, in 2016; the record low −18°, in 1973. The most rain on this date, 0.50 in, fell in 1986.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1969 at Ben'S Farm, 4 miles west-northwest. NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.