June's Temperatures Warmer
Than Normal In Much of Alaska
Ketchikan dryer in June
July 09, 2007
Monday
Much of Alaska rounded out June with temperatures that were a
few degrees warmer than normal. The strongest temperature departures
were found in the Copper River Basin. However, a few locations
on the southern coast had slightly cooler than normal temperatures
for June. Precipitation for the southern mainland and the Panhandle
was well below normal for the month, with a few locations reporting
less than 25 percent of average. Western and northern portions
of the state were wetter than normal for June, though.
More than 350 fires have been reported so far this season, burning
upwards of 200,000 acres across the state. The Caribou Hills
fire on the Kenai Peninsula flared up during June, and is responsible
for burning more than 50,000 acres. That fire consumed one quarter
of the statewide burned area.
The longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere occurred
on June 21.
Ketchikan had a dry month. It received only 3.95 inches of rainfall,
which is about half of normal for June. Rain occurred on 16 days
during the month, with an additional seven trace events. The
mean monthly temperature was 54.2 degrees Fahrenheit, just a
few tenths of a degree warmer than normal for June. The average
high for the month was 62 degrees. The average low was 47 degrees.
The highest temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit occurred on
June 3. The lowest recorded temperature, 38 degrees, was on June
22. It tied the record low for that date.
Graphic courtesy Alaska
Climate Research Center, Geophysical Institute, University of
Alaska Fairbanks
Temperatures averaged close
to normal in Juneau, with a monthly mean temperature of 54.4
degrees Fahrenheit, only 0.6 degrees above average for June.
The average high for the month was 62 degrees, while the average
low was 47 degrees. Interestingly, the highest and lowest temperature
occurred on the same date. On June 9, both 76 degrees and 36
degrees were recorded. Precipitation was relatively light at
only 1.85 inches. Precipitation was down from the normal 3.36
inches for June. Winds were quite light in Juneau. The average
speed was 4.9 mph. Fog occurred on half the days during the month.
Despite a mean monthly temperature of a mere 0.1 degrees Fahrenheit
above average, King Salmon had three record daily high temperatures:
72 degrees on June 15, 76 degrees on June 19, and 78 degrees
on June 20. The lowest temperature for the month, 34 degrees,
occurred on June 7 and 8. The average high temperature was 60
degrees Fahrenheit, while the average low was 42 degrees. The
mean for the month was 50.5 degrees. Precipitation was more than
twice the normal amount, with 3.2 inches. Rainfall was reported
on all but five days during the month of June.
The weather was close to climatology
in Anchorage this June. The mean monthly temperature was just
half a degree above average at 55.2 degrees Fahrenheit and the
precipitation totaled 1.10 inches, only 0.04 above average. Daily
highs for the month averaged 64 degrees, while nighttime lows
averaged 47 degrees. The highest temperature of 78 degrees occurred
on June 20 through 21st. The lowest temperature of the month,
40 degrees Fahrenheit, occurred on June 1 and June 8. Measurable
rainfall occurred on only three days during the month, with seven
more trace events. A high wind gust of 46 mph out of the south-southeast
occurred at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on
June 5.
Overall, Fairbanks had a warmer
and wetter than normal June. The average high and low for the
month was 72 degrees Fahrenheit and 51 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively.
The monthly mean temperature was 61.6 degrees, a positive departure
of 1.9 degrees. The highest temperature at the Fairbanks International
Airport, 83 degrees, occurred on June 20 and 29. The lowest temperature,
42 degrees Fahrenheit, occurred June 1. There were five days
during the month when the high temperature went above 80 degrees,
which is normal for June. For the first time this year, the monthly
precipitation total was above normal. Fairbanks had 1.88 inches
of rain during June, almost half an inch above average. The average
wind speed was 4.2 mph, with a high wind gust of 31 mph out of
the northeast on June 29.
Weather conditions were warmer and drier than normal at Big Delta
this year. The temperature got up to 81 degrees Fahrenheit on
June 29, and down to 41 degrees on the 9th. The average temperature
for the month, 60 degrees Fahrenheit, was 2.5 degrees warmer
than normal. The average high temperature was 70 degrees. The
average low was 50 degrees. Precipitation occurred on 16 days,
and trace events occurred on five more days for a total of 1.86
inches of rainfall. This rainfall is about half an inch below
normal for June.
Barrow had a relatively warm and dry June. The average high was
40 degrees Fahrenheit. The average low was 32 degrees. The average
monthly temperature rang in at 36 degrees, which is 1.1 degree
warmer than normal. The high for the month, 52 degrees, occurred
on June 20. The low for the month, 23 degrees, was recorded on
June 1. The high temperature of 50 degrees or above occurred
four days during June. Two days had a high temperature at, or
below, freezing. The seasonal snowpack, at 8 inches at the start
of the month, was gone by June 10. There were four days when
a trace of snow fell and rainfall was a mere tenth of an inch,
0.31 below normal for June. Winds averaged 14 mph for the month
and a high gust of 40 mph out of the east was observed on June
7. Dense fog, with visibility less than a quarter mile, was
observed on seven days during the month.
The average monthly temperature at Nome was 47.8 degrees Fahrenheit,
just half a degree above average for June. The average high temperature
was 53 degrees Fahrenheit. The average low was 43 degrees. The
high for the month, 71 degrees, was observed June 12. The low
for the month was reported on June 19. It was 34 degrees. Precipitation
was almost half an inch more than normal, with 1.62 inches. Measurable
rainfall occurred on 16 days, and seven more days experienced
trace events. The average wind speed for the month was 8.3 mph.
June's weather summary consists
of preliminary climatological data that was compiled at the Alaska
Climate Research Center, Geophysical Institute, University of
Alaska Fairbanks.
On the Web:
Alaska Climate Research Center,
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
http://climate.gi.alaska.edu
Source of News:
Alaska Climate Research Center,
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks
http://climate.gi.alaska.edu
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