Alaska - July or August

[tcudarling93]

Planning an Alaskan cruise for July or August.  What is the difference in weather if we wait until August?  More rain?  We want to do the Northbound from Vancouver to Anchorage then do a land tour.  Fishing is a must!  Any recommendations for when is best month to plan the trip or places to stay on land?

[lobsternight]

Really a rolll of the dice.  Our first trip was mid July, not a drop of rain, 3 years later, same ship same dates poured the whole time.  My opinion living in Vancouver, mid July to mid August usually sees a good long high pressure ridge build, and good weather.  Fine in the South, but as you approach Alaska its a whole different system.   Could be hot, cold be cold.  Bring layers so you can dress accordingly.  Even in the rain, Alaska is a magical destination  

[Northern Aurora]

Traditionally August was the start of the rainy season in SE Alaska, but our weather has become rather unpredictable and "old" patterns are questionable.  Just be prepared for rain, and if you don't experience heavy downpours be happy.  But July will definitely have more hours of daylight.

 

Our OP states that fishing is a must, but are they looking for fishing excursions from their cruise ship or while they are on their land tour?  It is difficult to recommend any "places to stay on land" until they have plans for their land trip.  Heading north toward Denali, fishing on the Kenai Peninsula, heading to the Wrangell -- St. Elias National Park and Preserve?  What are they considering?

[donaldsc]

https://weatherspark.com/

 

DON

[Gardyloo]

If fishing is a priority, choose a northbound cruise that arrives in Seward in mid-August.  There's an annual silver salmon derby in Seward that attracts lots of fishers, but it's also the peak period for silvers in Resurrection Bay and/or the Kenai River drainage (or in fact up and down the Kenai Peninsula and many of the rivers in the Anchorage area.)  

 

Trying to predict the weather these days is a fool's errand.

[diesel1973]

Was up there for 6 weeks in most of July and part of August this past summer, More than usual rain so the rivers were high. Fishing was a little on the slow side.

[Mountaineer0313]

Alaska is such a crapshoot weather wise. We’ve been both at the end of august and beginning to mid September, and both times we had incredible weather. Literally almost no rain, and when we went in august it was tshirt weather. When we went in September it was pretty chilly at night but daytime was light jacket or a sweatshirt and you were fine. We’re going next year the last week of august. That time and into September is just better because of my husbands business being slower then, so it’s hard for us to go in mid summer. But I’ve been totally happy with our choices both times we’ve gone.