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Shaded-relief map of Gulkana, Alaska: rivers, roads, the city limits and where the water drains.
ALASKA · COPPER RIVER CENSUS AREA

Gulkana

110 people, 1,620 ft above sea level in Copper River Census Area.

1,620 ftElevation, city center
110People, 2024 estimate
35 sq miLand area
Sunny 15°
Sunny now Dew point 13° · Calm · high 13°
City of Gulkana River Interstate 1 miles
Explore the plate Order a print

The Gulkana 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 Gulkana

NWS forecast and National Blend of Models · updated 2:00 PM AKST
RIGHT NOW Gulkana Airport (PAGK) · 1:53 PM
Sunny
15° Sunny Feels like 15° · high of 13° near 2 PM
WindCalmno gusts
Humidity91%falling to 96% this afternoon
Pressure29.29 in →steady
Visibility10 mihaze-free
CloudsClear
UV index0none after dark
Dew point 13° · Dryabout the same for three days
DryComfortableStickyMuggyOppressive
NEXT RAIN
Mostly cloudy
Tomorrow, about 2 PMin about 23 hours · 76% chance · rain
LIKELY AMOUNT0–0 inmost likely 0; 1 in 10 over 0.07
LAST RAINNov. 110.01 in · 3 dry days
ALERTS & OUTLOOKS
No watches or warnings for Copper River Census Area
NWS Anchorage and the Storm Prediction Center · checked 2:45 PM
SUN & MOON
↑ 8:52 AM4:00 PM ↓
7 h 8 m of daylight, 5 minutes less than yesterday
Waxing crescent, 26% 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
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
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
overcast
snow
rain
rain
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy day
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy night
mostly cloudy day
partly cloudy day
TEMPERATURE °F
13°
10°
14°
12°
16°
14°
CHANCE OF RAIN
76% · 0.02 in Sunday afternoon 50%
WIND, MPH
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
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 15° / -2°
SAT Nov. 14 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
13° 7°
0% rain — NNW 0 A
SUN Nov. 15 Showers likely Showers likely
14° 8°
80% rain — N 0 B
MON Nov. 16 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
18° 10°
20% rain — N 0 C
TUE Nov. 17 Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
18° 9°
20% rain — NW 5 C
WED Nov. 18 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
21° 16°
10% rain — SE 7 C
THU Nov. 19 Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
27° 16°
20% rain — SSE 7 C
FRI Nov. 20 Chance of showers Chance of showers
22° 11°
40% rain up to 0.2″ NW 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 Gulkana about 5,000 feet above the ground was over the Bering Sea three days ago, and over interior Alaska a day ago, about 720 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 9,100 feet up, warming and drying as it sank. Near the ground the air came from southcentral Alaska; at 10,000 feet, from a point about 8,650 miles to the east. 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 1989 Nov. 12, 1989

The coldest this week has been

−44° on Nov. 12, 1989, the coldest reading for this week of the year since 1909. Next is −42° in 1969.

−42°
−44°
19691989
Source: NOAA RCC-ACIS, the Gulkana Area threaded record since 1909.
MILE2
THE GROUND

What Gulkana stands on

Gulkana’s center stands about 1,620 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,270 ft to 1,690 ft, a difference of 420 ft: hilly country.

Gulkana, cut in half from northwest to southeast

A section northwest to southeast, 24 miles through the town center
1,500 ft2,000 ft GULKANA1,620 ftCopper Riverabout 1,280 ftHigh point of the line2,360 ft ← NWSE →

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

Gulkana’s year

1991–2020 normals · records since 1909 · Gulkana Airport, 4 mi south

Gulkana has a dry-summer subarctic climate. Summer afternoons average 69° in July; winter nights fall to about −12° in January. About 12 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

5°−12°16°−5°28°1°44°21°58°33°67°43°69°47°65°42°54°33°36°18°15°−1°8°−8° JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 TODAY GULKANA 11.8 in rain a year
Normal high to low, by month Record high to low, by day Rain by month Freezing
July, average69° / 47°high / low, the warmest month
January, average5° / −12°high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year11.8 inwettest months: August and July
Hottest on record97°FJuly 10, 1915
Coldest on record−65°FFebruary 3, 1947
Wettest day on record2.06 inSeptember 14, 1951
Snowiest day on record14.3 inApril 11, 1992
Nights at or below 32°238and 139 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeDry-summer subarcticKöppen Dsc

AROUND THE RING

1Freeze seasonfrom the first fall freeze, about Aug. 21, to the last in spring, about June 8 (median dates)
2Highs below freezingOct. 21 to March 26; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezingSept. 18 to May 12; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretchJuly through September: 5.1 of the year’s 11.8 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Gulkana normally reaches 15° and falls to −2°. The record high is 41°, in 1964; the record low −37°, in 1918. The most rain on this date, 0.41 in, fell in 2009.

MONTH BY MONTH
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Normal high5°16°28°44°58°67°69°65°54°36°15°8°
Normal low−12°−5°1°21°33°43°47°42°33°18°−1°−8°
Rain, inches0.730.650.340.220.761.361.741.911.421.000.850.78
Record high52° (1917)53° (2017)54° (2019)70° (2003)85° (1960)90° (1969)97° (1915)88° (1976)76° (1917)69° (2003)48° (1964)49° (1999)
Record low−60° (1947)−65° (1947)−48° (1972)−42° (1944)5° (1964)22° (1919)29° (2008)20° (1984)2° (1992)−23° (1996)−45° (1917)−65° (1917)

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1909 from the Gulkana Area threaded record (Gulkana Airport, 4 miles south). NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.
MILE7
ON THE NETWORK

Around Gulkana on the Forecast Network

Neighboring plates

FORECASTCITY
Map of Gulkana, Alaska. Explore the plate
ALASKA · COPPER RIVER

Gulkana

110 people, 1,620 ft above sea level in Copper River Census Area.

1,620 ftElevation
110People
35 sq miLand
Sunny 15°
SunnyDew point 13°
1

Today in Gulkana

NEXT 15 HOURS
Now mostly cloudy day 13° 0%
5p partly cloudy night 13° 0%
8p mostly cloudy night 11° 0%
11p mostly cloudy night 10° 0%
2a mostly cloudy night 11° 0%
5a mostly cloudy night 11° 0%
Mostly cloudy
NEXT RAINTomorrow about 2 PM · 76%
→
Sat0%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
7
13
A
Sun80%
Showers likely Showers likely
8
14
B
Mon20%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
10
18
C
Tue20%
Partly cloudy Partly cloudy
9
18
C
Wed10%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
16
21
C
Thu20%
Mostly cloudy Mostly cloudy
16
27
C
Fri40%
Chance of showers Chance of showers
11
22
C
Letters show how sure the forecast is: A, models agree; B, some spread; C, check back. Sample data.
THIS WEEK IN 1989 · NOV. 12, 1989

−44°, the coldest this week of the year has been since 1909.

2

What Gulkana stands on

Gulkana’s center stands about 1,620 ft above sea level. Within three miles the land runs from 1,270 ft to 1,690 ft, a difference of 420 ft: hilly country.

Gulkana, northwest to southeast Gulkana1,620 ftCopper Riverabout 1,280 ft ← NWSE → 24 miles through the town center; vertical exaggeration about 34×.
Elevation, center1,620 ft
Within 3 miles1,270 to 1,690 ft
Lie of the landHilly (420 ft of relief)
5

Gulkana’s year

Gulkana has a dry-summer subarctic climate. Summer afternoons average 69° in July; winter nights fall to about −12° in January. About 12 inches of rain fall in a normal year.

JANFEBMARAPRMAYJUNJULAUGSEPOCTNOVDEC 1234 11.8 in
July, average69° / 47° · high / low, the warmest month
January, average5° / −12° · high / low, the coldest month
Rain a year11.8 in · wettest months: August and July
Hottest on record97°F · July 10, 1915
Coldest on record−65°F · February 3, 1947
Wettest day on record2.06 in · September 14, 1951
Snowiest day on record14.3 in · April 11, 1992
Nights at or below 32°238 · and 139 days that stay below freezing
Climate typeDry-summer subarctic · Köppen Dsc
1Freeze season · from the first fall freeze, about Aug. 21, to the last in spring, about June 8 (median dates)
2Highs below freezing · Oct. 21 to March 26; normal highs stay below 32°
3Lows below freezing · Sept. 18 to May 12; normal lows fall below 32°
4Wettest stretch · July through September: 5.1 of the year’s 11.8 inches
NOVEMBER 14 IN THE RECORD

On November 14 Gulkana normally reaches 15° and falls to −2°. The record high is 41°, in 1964; the record low −37°, in 1918. The most rain on this date, 0.41 in, fell in 2009.

Normals 1991–2020 and records since 1909 from the Gulkana Area threaded record (Gulkana Airport, 4 miles south). NOAA, through RCC-ACIS.