Alaska sets December temperature record at 67°F (19°C) – “In late December, I would not have thought such a thing possible”
By Andrew Freedman
27 December 2021
(Axios) – A weather station mounted on a tide gauge on the picturesque island of Kodiak, Alaska, recorded an air temperature of 67°F on 26 December 2021, which if verified would become the state’s record high for the month.
The big picture: Such astonishingly mild conditions in America’s Arctic state come at the end of a month that largely featured extreme cold across much of the region. The warm spell, which reached inland areas, turned snow into freezing rain that made roads sheets of ice early this week.
Why it matters: This freak temperature reading in a state known for its cold, snow and winter darkness puts a capstone on a year filled with extreme weather events in the U.S. and worldwide, many of which were made worse by global warming.
The weather station at the Kodiak tide gauge reached the 60s again Monday afternoon, and up to 55°F on Tuesday morning. “In late December,” tweeted Alaska climate scientist Rick Thoman, “I would not have thought such a thing possible.”
- Thoman also pointed out that the temperature at Unalaska Airport rose to 57°F at noon local time Monday, and only fell to 50°F overnight Sunday into Monday morning.
- “That’s higher than the 1991-2020 normal daily low temperature for ANY day of the year,” Thoman stated. [more]
