Adak, Alaska - Location and Climate

Location and Climate

Adak is located at 51.872° North, 176.636° West (Sec. 10, T096S, R195W, Seward Meridian). Adak is located in the Aleutian Islands Recording District, and the 3rd Judicial District.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 127.3 square miles (330 km2), of which, 122.4 square miles (317 km2) of it is land and 4.9 square miles (13 km2) of it (3.87%) is water.

Adak is located on Kuluk Bay on Adak Island in the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands. It lies 1,200 miles (1,930 km) southwest of Anchorage and 450 miles (724 km) west of Dutch Harbor, near the Russian end of the arc that makes up this volcanic island chain. Flight time to Anchorage is three hours or longer depending on weather. Adak is the southern-most community in Alaska and on the same latitude as Vancouver Island in Canada, and Brussels, Belgium.

Adak lies in the subpolar oceanic climate zone, characterized by persistently overcast skies, moderated temperatures, high winds, and frequent cyclonic storms. Winter squalls produce wind gusts in excess of 100 knots (120 mph; 190 km/h). During the summer, extensive fog forms over the Bering Sea and North Pacific. Average temperatures range from 20 to 60 °F (-7 to 16 °C), but wind chill factors can be severe. Total precipitation is 64 inches (1,600 mm) annually, with an average accumulated snowfall of 100 inches (2,500 mm), which however tends to melt soon after falling. With 263 rainy days per year, Adak has the second highest number of any inhabited locality in the United States after Hilo, Hawaii.