Unprecedented October Weather in Alaska

By: By Chris Dolce

Published: October 30,2013

 

 

 

 

 

From Anchorage to Fairbanks and Barrow, many cities in Alaska are seeing very mild temperatures this October due to a persistent area of high pressure in the upper atmosphere.

Unprecedented Weather in Fairbanks

The red, orange and yellow contours on this map illustrate the dominant area of high pressure aloft engulfing Alaska, northwest Canada and the northeast Pacific from Oct. 8 to Oct. 27. Credit: NOAA/ESRL

In the interior Alaskan city of Fairbanks, the monthly average temperature is 36.8 degrees through Oct. 29. This is more than 11 degrees above average and ranks among the warmest Octobers on record in the city.
Monday, Oct. 28 was extremely mild. The high temperature for the day reached a daily record of 51 degrees, more than 30 degrees above the late-October average high of 20 degrees. Even the low temperature of 38 degrees exceeded the average high by about 18 degrees.
From late Oct. 27 into Oct. 28, rain fell on bare ground in Fairbanks. This may not sound significant, but according to the National Weather Service, rain falling on bare ground three days prior to Halloween "appears to be unprecedented in more than a century of weather observations." The National Weather Service says that rain is a rarity in Fairbanks after Oct. 20.
In addition, this could be the first Halloween with no snow on the ground in Fairbanks. Even if a trace of snow is recorded, it would only be one of five times that Oct. 31 has only had a trace of snow on the ground.
Temperatures are expected to trend cooler as we transition from October to November, but remain above average.
(FORECAST: Fairbanks)

Warmth Stretches From North to South Coasts

Alaska Satellite Imagery

Anchorage, the most populated city in Alaska, is experiencing an October that will rank among its warmest dating to 1915.
The monthly average temperature of 43.2 degrees through Oct. 29 is more than seven degrees above average. It's also more than one degree higher than the current warmest October of 42.1 degrees set in 1936.
High temperatures have been in the 50s nearly half of the days this month. Typically, average high temperatures fall from the upper 40s to low 30s from the start to the end of October.
Along the north coast of Alaska, the town of Barrow is seeing a very warm October for the second year in a row.
The average temperature in Barrow through Oct. 29 is 25.7 degrees. This is nearly eight degrees above average, but at this point is short of equaling last year's record warm October of 27.5 degrees.
(MORE: Barrow, Alaska – America's Coldest City)

MORE: Alaska Glaciers

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Muir Glacier, Alaska

This photo of the Muir Glacier in Alaska's Glacier Bay was taken in 1980, and shows the 200-foot high retreating end of the glacier. (Bruce Molnia/USGS)