by
James Brooks / editor@kodiakdailymirror.com
Kodiak Daily Mirror
Jun 19, 2013 | 135 views | 0
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Tourists and locals alike flocked to Pillar Mountain on a clear and sunny Saturday, June 15, 2013. Unusually warm weather continued over the weekend and into Tuesday, the second consecutive day of record temperatures. Kodiak has had six 70-degree days this month; an average June has only one.
(James Brooks photo)
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Texans would laugh. Californians would ignore it. In Phoenix, they’d probably throw on a sweater.
But who cares what everyone else thinks? By Kodiak standards, this June has been a scorcher.
On Tuesday afternoon, the thermometer hit 73 degrees at Kodiak State Airport, breaking the old record high of 72 degrees, set in 1989. The high even approached the higher, unofficial record high set in 1926 at 78 degrees.
Tuesday’s record-breaking day has been joined by three others this month. New record highs were set June 9 and June 18. The record high was tied June 16.
Of the first 18 days of the month, six have seen highs of 70 degrees or more. According to long-term averages, Kodiak typically records just one 70-degree day in June.
The unusually warm weather isn’t limited to Kodiak alone. On Monday, the temperature in Talkeetna hit 96 degrees — the highest mark ever recorded in the mountain climbing hub south of Denali Park. The temperature was also within shouting distance of the all-time Alaska high: 100 degrees, set in Fort Yukon on June 27, 1915.
In Cordova, the thermometer hit 90 degrees on Monday. In Valdez, it was 89. In Seward, it was 88. All were the highest temperatures ever seen in those places.
The reason for the heat is “an unusually large ridge of dry and hot high pressure parked over the state,” the National Weather Service wrote in a statement.
In Kodiak, there’s another contributing factor, explained meteorological technician John Selman.
On most summer days, Kodiak’s temperature is moderated by breezes from the ocean. Despite the heat, water temperatures near Kodiak have not yet topped 49 degrees. This chilly water cools the air around it, and when sea breezes carry that cooler air to land, they drop the temperature almost immediately.
On Tuesday, for example, the recorded temperature dropped 13 degrees — from 73 to 60 — between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.
When the wind shifts and comes from the west, the opposite happens.
In Kodiak city, the bulk of Kodiak Island lies to the west, and westerlies bring wind from the land. On Monday, the wind shifted to the west just before 4 p.m. In response, temperatures at Kodiak State Airport jumped from 69 degrees to 79 degrees.
Tuesday’s warm, sunny weather is expected to be the last of Kodiak’s heat wave. Cooler, cloudy conditions are expected to arrive today with a chance of showers. The change is expected to take Kodiak’s weather from exceptionally warm to exceptionally average.
Contact Mirror editor James Brooks at editor@kodiakdailymirror.com.
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