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Glacier Bay National Park and PreserveLush temperate rainforest cloaks the shores of Glacier Bay
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Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Weather
 

July 27, 1890. All...day it rained. The mountains were smothered in dull-colored mist and fog, the great glacier looming through the gloomy gray fog fringes with wonderful effect. It is bad weather for exploring, but delightful nevertheless, making all the strange, mysterious region yet stranger and more mysterious. 
        
John Muir at the face of Muir Glacier

Weather and Climate 
Glacier Bay has a maritime climate, heavily influenced by ocean currents. The result is mild winters and cool, moist summers near sea level. Summer visitors can expect highs between 50 and 60 degrees F (10 to 15 degrees C). Winter temperatures rarely drop into the single digits, with average nighttime lows of 25 to 40 degrees F (-2 to 5 degrees C). Bartlett Cove receives about 70 inches of precipitation annually. You may find yourself thinking it’s all coming down during your visit! Good rain gear is essential here. April, May and June are usually the driest months of the year. September and October tend to be the wettest.

Keep in mind, these are weather conditions at sea level. Up in the mountains, conditions are more severe with colder temperatures and precipitation that takes the form of snow. At any elevation, be sure and dress appropriately and be aware that the risk of hypothermia is present at any time of year. But do remember - it’s all that rain and snow falling year after year that creates the lush forests and magnificent glaciers we love to see!

 
 
Gustavus airport weather cam

Gustavus Airfield
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Bartlett Cove Weather Station
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Icebergs calve off the face of a tidewater glacier  

Did You Know?
Seawater is highly erosive to glacial ice. Waves and tides work away at an unstable glacier face, causing huge chunks of ice to calve, or break off, into the ocean.

Last Updated: May 09, 2008 at 18:41 EST