Fairbanks weather in September

In September, Fairbanks sees average daytime highs of 54°F and overnight lows near 39°F, with 1.6 in of precipitation across 7.9 wet days and about 12.7 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 60°F in the first days to 47°F by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time in September, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 14 h 24 min at the start of September to 11 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, September is Fairbanks's 10th-clearest and 8th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Fairbanks's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 54°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 39°; 8th coldest
Precipitation: 1.6 in; 7.9 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 42 min; 6:25 AM – 7:05 PM
Cloud cover: 70%; 10th clearest
Wind: 5 mph; 8th windiest
Solar energy: 2.33 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.4; out of 10

Fairbanks is city in Alaska, USA.

Density: 384/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1901

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← August Fairbanks year-round climate October →Best places to visit in September

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in September

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 60°F in the first days to 47°F by the end.

A typical September day in Fairbanks reaches about 54°F in the afternoon and slips back to 39°F overnight — a 15°F spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 44°F and 64°F. Set against its neighbours, September runs about 11°F cooler than August and about 21°F warmer than October.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Avg high (°F)	61	61	60	60	60	59	59	59	58	58	57	57	56	56	55	55	54	53	53	52	51	51	50	49	49	48	47	47	46	46
Avg low (°F)	45	44	44	44	43	43	43	42	42	42	41	41	41	40	40	39	39	38	38	38	37	37	36	35	35	34	34	33	33	32

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	61	45
2	61	44
3	60	44
4	60	44
5	60	43
6	59	43
7	59	43
8	59	42
9	58	42
10	58	42
11	57	41
12	57	41
13	56	41
14	56	40
15	55	40
16	55	39
17	54	39
18	53	38
19	53	38
20	52	38
21	51	37
22	51	37
23	50	36
24	49	35
25	49	35
26	48	34
27	47	34
28	47	33
29	46	33
30	46	32

How September really feels in Fairbanks

Once humidity and wind are folded in, September averages 0 days that feel above 90°F and 8 that feel at or below 32°F — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 32°F

wind chill below the day's low

The story in September is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Fairbanks weather by month

How September compares with the rest of the year at a glance. September is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°F)	Rainfall (inches)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	3° / -9°	0.4	3.5	4.6	4.6	0.0
Feb	12° / -3°	0.4	3.1	3.9	7.8	0.0
Mar	25° / 5°	0.3	2.4	3.1	11.2	0.0
Apr	44° / 24°	0.4	2.8	2.2	14.7	1.3
May	60° / 41°	0.8	5.3	0.5	18.1	5.3
Jun	70° / 53°	2.0	10.2	0	20.6	6.3
Jul	71° / 55°	2.4	11	0	19.6	6.3
Aug	65° / 50°	2.4	10.9	0	16.2	5.6
Sep	54° / 39°	1.6	7.9	1	12.7	3.4
Oct	33° / 22°	0.8	5.4	4.2	9.2	0.1
Nov	14° / 3°	0.6	4.4	5.5	5.8	0.0
Dec	6° / -6°	0.4	3.7	4.7	3.3	0.0

Cloud cover in September

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time in September.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 12% of September, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 68%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Clearer (%)	33	32	32	32	32	31	32	32	32	31	31	31	30	30	30	30	30	31	31	31	32	32	32	32	33	34	34	34	33	33
Cloudier (%)	67	68	68	68	68	69	68	68	68	69	69	69	70	70	70	70	70	69	69	69	68	68	68	68	67	66	66	66	67	67

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	32	68
3	32	68
4	32	68
5	32	68
6	31	69
7	32	68
8	32	68
9	32	68
10	31	69
11	31	69
12	31	69
13	30	70
14	30	70
15	30	70
16	30	70
17	30	70
18	31	69
19	31	69
20	31	69
21	32	68
22	32	68
23	32	68
24	32	68
25	33	67
26	34	66
27	34	66
28	34	66
29	33	67
30	33	67

Chance of precipitation in September

Any precipitationSnow

Fairbanks gets around 1.6 in of rain and snow over 7.9 wet days in September. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 26% and peaks near 30% on the wettest days, and about 1 day brings snow. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Rain chance (%)	30	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	27	27	26	26	25	24	24	23	23	22	22	21	21	21
Snow chance (%)	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	5	5	5	6	6	7	7	8	9

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	30	0
2	29	0
3	29	0
4	29	0
5	29	1
6	29	1
7	29	1
8	29	1
9	28	1
10	28	2
11	28	2
12	28	2
13	28	2
14	28	2
15	28	3
16	28	3
17	27	3
18	27	3
19	26	4
20	26	4
21	25	4
22	24	5
23	24	5
24	23	5
25	23	6
26	22	6
27	22	7
28	21	7
29	21	8
30	21	9

Humidity in September

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of September feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, September lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100

Wind in September

Winds average 5 mph in September.

Across September, daily wind ranges from about 5 mph on the calmest days to 5 mph at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Wind speed (mph)	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (mph)	Feels
1	5	calm
2	5	calm
3	5	calm
4	5	calm
5	5	calm
6	5	calm
7	5	calm
8	5	calm
9	5	calm
10	5	calm
11	5	calm
12	5	calm
13	5	calm
14	5	calm
15	5	calm
16	5	calm
17	5	calm
18	5	calm
19	5	calm
20	5	calm
21	5	calm
22	5	calm
23	5	calm
24	5	calm
25	5	calm
26	5	calm
27	5	calm
28	5	calm
29	5	calm
30	5	calm

Sunrise & sunset in September

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 14 h 24 min at the start of September to 11 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 198 minutes over September. Sunrise moves from 5:39 AM to 7:09 AM, and sunset from 8:02 PM to 6:12 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Daylight (h)	14.4	14.3	14.2	14.0	13.9	13.8	13.7	13.6	13.5	13.3	13.2	13.1	13.0	12.9	12.8	12.7	12.5	12.4	12.3	12.2	12.1	12.0	11.9	11.7	11.6	11.5	11.4	11.3	11.2	11.1
Sunrise (AM)	5:39	5:42	5:45	5:48	5:52	5:55	5:58	6:01	6:04	6:07	6:10	6:13	6:16	6:19	6:22	6:25	6:28	6:32	6:35	6:38	6:41	6:44	6:47	6:50	6:53	6:56	6:59	7:02	7:05	7:09
Sunset (PM)	8:02	7:58	7:54	7:51	7:47	7:43	7:39	7:35	7:32	7:28	7:24	7:20	7:16	7:13	7:09	7:05	7:01	6:57	6:54	6:50	6:46	6:42	6:38	6:35	6:31	6:27	6:23	6:19	6:16	6:12

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	14.4	5:39	8:02
2	14.3	5:42	7:58
3	14.2	5:45	7:54
4	14.0	5:48	7:51
5	13.9	5:52	7:47
6	13.8	5:55	7:43
7	13.7	5:58	7:39
8	13.6	6:01	7:35
9	13.5	6:04	7:32
10	13.3	6:07	7:28
11	13.2	6:10	7:24
12	13.1	6:13	7:20
13	13.0	6:16	7:16
14	12.9	6:19	7:13
15	12.8	6:22	7:09
16	12.7	6:25	7:05
17	12.5	6:28	7:01
18	12.4	6:32	6:57
19	12.3	6:35	6:54
20	12.2	6:38	6:50
21	12.1	6:41	6:46
22	12.0	6:44	6:42
23	11.9	6:47	6:38
24	11.7	6:50	6:35
25	11.6	6:53	6:31
26	11.5	6:56	6:27
27	11.4	6:59	6:23
28	11.3	7:02	6:19
29	11.2	7:05	6:16
30	11.1	7:09	6:12

Solar energy in September

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in September, about 2.33 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.05 kWh/m² to a high of 5.88 kWh/m² in June across the year — September's 2.33 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	3.0	3.0	3.0	2.9	2.9	2.8	2.8	2.7	2.7	2.6	2.6	2.5	2.5	2.4	2.4	2.3	2.3	2.2	2.1	2.1	2.0	2.0	2.0	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.7
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.0	Moderate
2	3.0	Moderate
3	3.0	Moderate
4	2.9	Moderate
5	2.9	Moderate
6	2.8	Moderate
7	2.8	Moderate
8	2.7	Moderate
9	2.7	Moderate
10	2.6	Moderate
11	2.6	Moderate
12	2.5	Moderate
13	2.5	Moderate
14	2.4	Moderate
15	2.4	Moderate
16	2.3	Moderate
17	2.3	Moderate
18	2.2	Moderate
19	2.1	Moderate
20	2.1	Moderate
21	2.0	Moderate
22	2.0	Moderate
23	2.0	Dim
24	1.9	Dim
25	1.9	Dim
26	1.8	Dim
27	1.8	Dim
28	1.8	Dim
29	1.7	Dim
30	1.7	Dim

Planning a trip in September

Is September a good time to visit Fairbanks?

Our two travel scores rate September for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

3.4

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

0.1

Beach & pool

5th-best month of the year

September is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Fairbanks.

What to pack for Fairbanks in September

From September's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In September, Fairbanks sees daytime highs around 54°F and nights near 39°F. Worth packing: a warm layer. About 8 days see rain.

a warm layer

UV index in Fairbanks in September

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in September peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Fairbanks peaks around June 20 at about 4 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	0	0	1	2	3	5	4	3	2	1	0	0
Level	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	0	Low
Feb	0	Low
Mar	1	Low
Apr	2	Moderate
May	3	Moderate
Jun	5	Moderate
Jul	4	Moderate
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	2	Low
Oct	1	Low
Nov	0	Low
Dec	0	Low

Air quality in Fairbanks in September

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where September falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Fairbanks is worst in June — around 34 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 33.8× the cleanest month (December, 1 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	1	3	5	8	10	34	29	19	3	2	1	1
Level	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	1	Good
Feb	3	Good
Mar	5	Good
Apr	8	Good
May	10	Good
Jun	34	Moderate
Jul	29	Moderate
Aug	19	Moderate
Sep	3	Good
Oct	2	Good
Nov	1	Good
Dec	1	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Fairbanks?

Fairbanks sits at 64.8°N, 147.7°W, 446 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Badger, 6.2 mi away.

Topography around Fairbanks

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Fairbanks.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Fairbanks has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 102 ft around an average of 443 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,801 ft; within 50 miles, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,350 ft.

The land around Fairbanks is covered by trees (34%), artificial surfaces (31%) and grassland (22%) within 2 miles, trees (69%) and grassland (20%) within 10 miles, and trees (66%) and grassland (29%) within 50 miles.

2 miles

102 ft

trees 34%

10 miles

1,801 ft

trees 69%

50 miles

4,350 ft

trees 66%

treesshrubsgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmoss and lichen

← August Fairbanks year-round climate October →Best places to visit in September

September weather nearby: Badger 6.2 mi · Eagle River 250 mi · Dawson City 252 mi · Anchorage 259 mi · Whitehorse 490 mi · Juneau 626 mi · Terrace 969 mi · Anadyr 1,010 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs: Type A / B; 120 V · 60 Hz
Prices: ≈ 100% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $90,027; 2025
Happiness: 6.8 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 98%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 5.8; per 100k, 2023
Road deaths: 12.7; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: High; World Bank
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Fairbanks (64.8378°, -147.7164°, elevation 446 ft), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	61	45
2	61	44
3	60	44
4	60	44
5	60	43
6	59	43
7	59	43
8	59	42
9	58	42
10	58	42
11	57	41
12	57	41
13	56	41
14	56	40
15	55	40
16	55	39
17	54	39
18	53	38
19	53	38
20	52	38
21	51	37
22	51	37
23	50	36
24	49	35
25	49	35
26	48	34
27	47	34
28	47	33
29	46	33
30	46	32

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	32	68
3	32	68
4	32	68
5	32	68
6	31	69
7	32	68
8	32	68
9	32	68
10	31	69
11	31	69
12	31	69
13	30	70
14	30	70
15	30	70
16	30	70
17	30	70
18	31	69
19	31	69
20	31	69
21	32	68
22	32	68
23	32	68
24	32	68
25	33	67
26	34	66
27	34	66
28	34	66
29	33	67
30	33	67

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	30	0
2	29	0
3	29	0
4	29	0
5	29	1
6	29	1
7	29	1
8	29	1
9	28	1
10	28	2
11	28	2
12	28	2
13	28	2
14	28	2
15	28	3
16	28	3
17	27	3
18	27	3
19	26	4
20	26	4
21	25	4
22	24	5
23	24	5
24	23	5
25	23	6
26	22	6
27	22	7
28	21	7
29	21	8
30	21	9

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	61	45
2	61	44
3	60	44
4	60	44
5	60	43
6	59	43
7	59	43
8	59	42
9	58	42
10	58	42
11	57	41
12	57	41
13	56	41
14	56	40
15	55	40
16	55	39
17	54	39
18	53	38
19	53	38
20	52	38
21	51	37
22	51	37
23	50	36
24	49	35
25	49	35
26	48	34
27	47	34
28	47	33
29	46	33
30	46	32

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	32	68
3	32	68
4	32	68
5	32	68
6	31	69
7	32	68
8	32	68
9	32	68
10	31	69
11	31	69
12	31	69
13	30	70
14	30	70
15	30	70
16	30	70
17	30	70
18	31	69
19	31	69
20	31	69
21	32	68
22	32	68
23	32	68
24	32	68
25	33	67
26	34	66
27	34	66
28	34	66
29	33	67
30	33	67

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	30	0
2	29	0
3	29	0
4	29	0
5	29	1
6	29	1
7	29	1
8	29	1
9	28	1
10	28	2
11	28	2
12	28	2
13	28	2
14	28	2
15	28	3
16	28	3
17	27	3
18	27	3
19	26	4
20	26	4
21	25	4
22	24	5
23	24	5
24	23	5
25	23	6
26	22	6
27	22	7
28	21	7
29	21	8
30	21	9

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100

	Avg high (°F)	Avg low (°F)
1	61	45
2	61	44
3	60	44
4	60	44
5	60	43
6	59	43
7	59	43
8	59	42
9	58	42
10	58	42
11	57	41
12	57	41
13	56	41
14	56	40
15	55	40
16	55	39
17	54	39
18	53	38
19	53	38
20	52	38
21	51	37
22	51	37
23	50	36
24	49	35
25	49	35
26	48	34
27	47	34
28	47	33
29	46	33
30	46	32

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	33	67
2	32	68
3	32	68
4	32	68
5	32	68
6	31	69
7	32	68
8	32	68
9	32	68
10	31	69
11	31	69
12	31	69
13	30	70
14	30	70
15	30	70
16	30	70
17	30	70
18	31	69
19	31	69
20	31	69
21	32	68
22	32	68
23	32	68
24	32	68
25	33	67
26	34	66
27	34	66
28	34	66
29	33	67
30	33	67

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	30	0
2	29	0
3	29	0
4	29	0
5	29	1
6	29	1
7	29	1
8	29	1
9	28	1
10	28	2
11	28	2
12	28	2
13	28	2
14	28	2
15	28	3
16	28	3
17	27	3
18	27	3
19	26	4
20	26	4
21	25	4
22	24	5
23	24	5
24	23	5
25	23	6
26	22	6
27	22	7
28	21	7
29	21	8
30	21	9

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100