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Shaded-relief map of College, Alaska: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
ALASKA · FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR BOROUGH

College

11,332 people, 440 ft above sea level in Fairbanks North Star Borough.

440 ftElevation, city center
11,332People, 2024 estimate
19 sq miLand area
Sunny 18°
Sunny now Dew point 15° · Calm · high 18°
City of College River Interstate 1 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The College 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 College

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 1:00 PM AKST
RIGHT NOW Fairbanks International Airport (PAFA) · 1:53 PM
Sunny
18° Sunny Feels like 18° · high of 18° near 3 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity88%falling to 92% this afternoon
Pressure29.44 in →steady
Visibility2 mifog or heavy haze
CloudsClear
UV index0none after dark
Dew point 15° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Rain
Tomorrow, about 4 PMin about 26 hours · 32% chance · rain
LIKELY AMOUNT0–0 inmost likely 0; 1 in 10 over 0.03
LAST RAINNov. 70.01 in · 7 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Fairbanks North Star Borough
NWS Fairbanks and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 2:15 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 9:23 AM3:48 PM ↓
6 h 24 m of daylight, 7 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% lit. Next full moon: Nov. 24.
AIR & POLLEN
12
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
overcast
overcast
overcast
overcast
overcast
overcast
overcast
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
rain
rain
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
partly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
17°
10°
18°
13°
19°
14°
CHANCE OF RAIN
32% · 0.00 in Sunday afternoon 50%
WIND, MPH
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
2
0
0
0
0
3
3
3
2
2
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
HOW IT FEELS · DEW POINT
Dry: dew points 8 to 16°

The next seven days, and how sure we are

Forecast, with the range 8 in 10 ensemble members agree on Normal, about 12° / -4°
SAT Nov. 14 Cloudy Cloudy
18° 10°
0% rain — E 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Chance of showers Chance of showers
19° 11°
30% rain — NE 1 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
20° 11°
20% rain — N 2 C
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
19° 9°
20% rain — ENE 5 B
WED Nov. 18 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
24° 18°
0% rain — ENE 9 C
THU Nov. 19 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
28° 15°
0% rain — S 8 C
FRI Nov. 20 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
23° 12°
10% rain — NE 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 College about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Arctic Ocean three days ago, and over interior Alaska a day ago, about 920 miles back along its path. It came down from about 14,800 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from interior Alaska; at 10,000 feet, from a point about 8,560 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 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 1904. Next is 45° in 2013.

45°
45°
20131976
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Fairbanks Area threaded record since 1904.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What College stands on

College’s center stands about 440 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 420 ft to 940 ft, a difference of 520 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Ester Dome, about 2,340 ft, 8 miles west-northwest.

College, cut in half from south to north

A section south to north, 24 miles through the town center
500 ft1,000 ft1,500 ft2,000 ft COLLEGE440 ftTanana Riverabout 430 ftSouth Van Horn440 ftHigh point of the line2,060 ft ← SN →

Heights every 0.1 mile from the Copernicus GLO-90 surface model; vertical exaggeration about 12×.

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

College’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1904 · Fairbanks International Airport, 4 mi south-southwest

College has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 73° in July; winter nights fall to about −17° in January. A normal year brings about 65 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 12 inches of water.

1°−17°12°−11°25°−3°46°22°62°39°72°50°73°53°66°48°55°36°34°18°12°−4°4°−13° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY COLLEGE 11.7 in rain and snowmelt
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average73° / 53°high / low, the warmest month
January, average1° / −17°high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow11.7 inwettest months: July and August
Snow a year64.6 insnowiest: November
Hottest on record96°FJune 15, 1969
Coldest on record−66°FJanuary 14, 1934
Wettest day on record3.42 inAugust 12, 1967
Snowiest day on record16.0 inFebruary 11, 1966
Nights at or below 32°222and 154 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continentalKöppen Dfb

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Sept. 12, to the last in spring, about May 14 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingOct. 18 to March 29; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingSept. 25 to April 30; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchJune through August: 5.8 of the year’s 11.7 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 College normally reaches 12° and falls to −4°. The record high is 45°, in 2013; the record low −41°, in 1956. The most rain on this date, 0.44 in, fell in 1936.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high1°12°25°46°62°72°73°66°55°34°12°4°
Normal low−17°−11°−3°22°39°50°53°48°36°18°−4°−13°
Rain and melt, in0.610.520.400.340.541.482.262.101.350.760.740.57
Snow, inches10.210.06.53.10.90.00.00.02.38.212.510.9
Record high52° (2009)50° (1943)56° (1994)76° (2009)90° (1947)96° (1969)94° (1975)93° (1994)84° (1957)72° (2003)54° (1936)58° (1934)
Record low−66° (1934)−58° (1993)−56° (1911)−32° (1944)−1° (1964)28° (1918)30° (1905)21° (1922)3° (1992)−28° (1935)−50° (1927)−62° (1961)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1904 from the Fairbanks Area threaded record (Fairbanks International Airport, 4 miles south-southwest). NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around College on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

Fairbanks AK · 5 MI 5 miles southeast Badger AK · 14 MI 14 miles east
FORECASTCITY
Map of College, Alaska. Explore the plate
ALASKA · FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR

College

11,332 people, 440 ft above sea level in Fairbanks North Star Borough.

440 ftElevation
11,332People
19 sq miLand
Sunny 18°
SunnyDew point 15°
1

Today in College

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now overcast 17° 0%
5p overcast 16° 0%
8p overcast 16° 0%
11p overcast 14° 0%
2a overcast 14° 0%
5a overcast 12° 0%
Rain
NEXT RAINTomorrow about 4 PM · 32%
→
Sat0%
Cloudy Cloudy
10
18
A
Sun30%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
11
19
B
Mon20%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
11
20
C
Tue20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
9
19
B
Wed0%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
18
24
C
Thu0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
15
28
C
Fri10%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
12
23
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 1904.

2

What College stands on

College’s center stands about 440 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 420 ft to 940 ft, a difference of 520 ft: hilly country. The highest named summit within 15 miles is Ester Dome, about 2,340 ft, 8 miles west-northwest.

College, south to north College440 ftTanana Riverabout 430 ft ← SN → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 22×.
Elevation, center440 ft
Within 3 miles420 to 940 ft
Lie of the landHilly (520 ft of relief)
High point nearbyEster Dome, 2,340 ft, 8 mi west-northwest
5

College’s year

College has a warm-summer humid continental climate. Summer afternoons average 73° in July; winter nights fall to about −17° in January. A normal year brings about 65 inches of snow; with the rain, that comes to about 12 inches of water.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 11.7 in
July, average73° / 53° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average1° / −17° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain and melted snow11.7 in · wettest months: July and August
Snow a year64.6 in · snowiest: November
Hottest on record96°F · June 15, 1969
Coldest on record−66°F · January 14, 1934
Wettest day on record3.42 in · August 12, 1967
Snowiest day on record16.0 in · February 11, 1966
Nights at or below 32°222 · and 154 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeWarm-summer humid continental · Köppen Dfb
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Sept. 12, to the last in spring, about May 14 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Oct. 18 to March 29; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Sept. 25 to April 30; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · June through August: 5.8 of the year’s 11.7 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 College normally reaches 12° and falls to −4°. The record high is 45°, in 2013; the record low −41°, in 1956. The most rain on this date, 0.44 in, fell in 1936.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1904 from the Fairbanks Area threaded record (Fairbanks International Airport, 4 miles south-southwest). NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.