Weather in May, warmer this year?

[4cats,1dog]

I heard that Alaska had the warmest winter in ages. The Dog race Hardly had any snow and dogs were getting cut up on rocks. I guess all the cold went to the North East. For Experienced Alaska cruisers: do you think it will be on the warmer side while we are there in May? Bought all the warm clothes and jacket, but now I am thinking a few more short sleeves or could be first layer.

Lynn

[AkSusan]

I heard that Alaska had the warmest winter in ages. The Dog race Hardly had any snow and dogs were getting cut up on rocks. I guess all the cold went to the North East. For Experienced Alaska cruisers: do you think it will be on the warmer side while we are there in May? Bought all the warm clothes and jacket, but now I am thinking a few more short sleeves or could be first layer.

Lynn

 

There is really no way of predicting. Two weeks ago we got 12 inches to 3 feet of snow in Anchorage (according to where you lived in town). Last winter, the most snow we ended up getting was not winter, but, spring. It snowed well into May.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

 

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[CruiserBruce]

There is really no way of predicting. Two weeks ago we got 12 inches to 3 feet of snow in Anchorage (according to where you lived in town). Last winter, the most snow we ended up getting was not winter, but, spring. It snowed well into May.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

 

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Agree, there is absolutely no way to predict. Here in California we have had the warmest, driest winter in history. But generally warm dry summers means mild summers, at least in Northern California, not a hot summer.

[AKman2495]

There is really no way of predicting. Two weeks ago we got 12 inches to 3 feet of snow in Anchorage (according to where you lived in town). Last winter, the most snow we ended up getting was not winter, but, spring. It snowed well into May.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

 

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That's all true, but I am going out on a limb here and am going to say that, at least for the Anchorage area, Spring has sprung.....

 

As far as Southeast goes, where most cruise ship go, it looks like it has been a wet winter and it looks like it will be wet there for a while....

 

Better bring a GOOD raincoat....

[Putterdude]

I have trouble believing that someone would expect a prediction of weather in Alaska five to six weeks out. However if you go with the idea that it is going to be cool and wet you likely won't be disappointed....if it's warm and dry then you will be pleasantly surprised.

[cruising twosome]

Best advise is always....layers! That way you can be comfortable no matter what. Bring a packable backpack to put layers as you peel off if necessary. We are going in early June and I have fleece leggings to wear under jeans (if really cold or on Glacier days), raincoat, scarf, hat and gloves, all of which take up little suitcase space. I am going to bring a couple of capri pants for nice/warm days also. Long and short sleeve tee shirts, a fleece top, wool socks and hiking shoes. Nice black dress pants and two dressy tops for formal night with black shoes. Husband is bring dress pants, shirt with ties, no jacket .Just a sample, not everything but hope this will give you ideas.

[ShannonSC2]

We were in Alaska last June and I had no idea what to expect for temps. I had looked at past temps from Alaska to try to figure out what it was going to do. We arrived 2 days before our cruise in Anchorage and it was 80 degrees. We wore shorts throughout the day. WE even went to the National Park and there was snow on the ground and we had on our shorts. The cruise itself was cool especially at night. WE even brought our rain jackets and it never rained even in Ketchikan. I brought just about everything you can pack. Shorts, sweaters, jeans, capris, jackets, gloves, bathing suits, etc. The best thing is dress in layers.

[fishin' musician]

We were in Alaska last June and I had no idea what to expect for temps. I had looked at past temps from Alaska to try to figure out what it was going to do. We arrived 2 days before our cruise in Anchorage and it was 80 degrees. We wore shorts throughout the day. WE even went to the National Park and there was snow on the ground and we had on our shorts. The cruise itself was cool especially at night. WE even brought our rain jackets and it never rained even in Ketchikan. I brought just about everything you can pack. Shorts, sweaters, jeans, capris, jackets, gloves, bathing suits, etc. The best thing is dress in layers.

 

We did a northbound last year about this time with a few added days in Denali, it was in the upper 80s and the real bummer is that the hotels do not have air conditioning.

[fleckle]

I have trouble believing that someone would expect a prediction of weather in Alaska five to six weeks out. However if you go with the idea that it is going to be cool and wet you likely won't be disappointed....if it's warm and dry then you will be pleasantly surprised.

LOL! I am remembering our first cruise to Alaska where I kept checking the weather forecast for all the ports on our itinerary every day for about 2 weeks before the trip.

 

It consistently kept showing rain forecast for every day of our trip at every port, so we were very disappointed but packed adequate rain gear and decided to make the best of it.

 

As it actually turned out, we had lovely dry days with only a slight, short drizzle for maybe an hour the day we were in Juneau, right before our whale watching tour. By the time we boarded the boat, the rain had stopped.

 

Unbelievably, we did not encounter any rain at all in Ketchikan on that trip, after all the stories we had heard about how it "always" rains in Ketchikan.

 

After that trip, I stopped checking the weather forecast for Alaska.

 

[EagleRocker]

Unbelievably, we did not encounter any rain at all in Ketchikan on that trip, after all the stories we had heard about how it "always" rains in Ketchikan.

 

After that trip, I stopped checking the weather forecast for Alaska.

 

 

Yep, you never know. We have been to Ketchikan four times - twice in early May, once in late May, and once in mid September. One of the early May trips was a bit grizzly, i.e., grey with a bit of rain/drizzle, but the wetness stopped by mid-day and we got a bit of sun. The other three times, it was gloriously sunny and warm throughout our visits, no jackets needed. As everyone says, the key is to pack things that can be layered and mixed and matched depending on the weather. And this has reminded me to throw in a pair of shorts for my upcoming May trip, just in case