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Alaska climate report: Above and below normal, July had it all

Nome was a hot place to be in early July. The temperature was 20 degrees above normal at one point during that period, according to the monthly summary of the Alaska Climate Research Center.

The center, part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, released its earlier this month.

Nome, on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula, had a record high of 80 degrees Fahrenheit on July 6, breaking the record of 77 degrees set in 1986. Nome also set records for the highest average daily temperature on two days: 72.5 degrees on July 5, breaking the 2008 record of 69.5 degrees, and 68 degrees on July 6, breaking the record 66.5 degrees of 1986.

Higher-than-normal temperatures were felt across much of the northern half of the state.

“July started out hot and smoky in much of Alaska,” the summary’s authors noted. “Warm air masses spread far into the Arctic under an upper level ridge centered over mainland Alaska.”

The high pressure zone expanded and kept building through the Fourth of July weekend, spreading from Siberia into Alaska into Canada.

Heat advisories were issued for the North Slope and parts of Alaska’s West Coast, along with red flag warnings for fire conditions in the Interior. Thunderstorms spread across Southcentral and the Interior during the second week, sparking new fires.

Even so, monthly mean temperatures in July were mostly between only about 1 and 2 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1991-2020 normal at most reporting sites because cooler weather prevailed later in the month.

Most Alaska regions tend to have their highest monthly mean temperatures in July, marking the peak of summer and the gradual transition to fall.

Bettles topped the list of monthly means with 2.6 degrees above normal, followed by Utqiaġvik and Delta Junction tied at 1.9 degrees. 

Southcentral and parts of Southwest Alaska had a cooler month compared with northern areas and the Interior. Anchorage, Talkeetna, King Salmon and Kodiak had a close-to-average July.

Other July highlights:

• July was a relatively dry month overall in much of the state. Many stations received around 40%-60% of their normal precipitation. The wettest stations relatively were in the Southwest, with Kodiak and Cold Bay topping the list with 139% and 146% of normal. Ketchikan was the driest station in relative terms, receiving only 36% of normal rainfall.
• Arctic sea ice extent continued near a record low level for the time of year. Total sea ice extent as of Aug. 1 was 6.209 million square kilometers, compared with 9.692 million square kilometers on June 26. 

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Martin Stuefer, director, Alaska Climate Research Center, mstuefer@alaska.edu

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