558
CXAK57 PAJK 160729
CLMASI
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
1121 AM AKST THU JAN 04 2024
...............................
..THE SITKA CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 2023
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1944 TO 2024
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR'S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE
NORMAL
..........................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 65 12/12/1944
LOW 16 12/25/2021
HIGHEST 53 12/29 50 3
LOWEST 31 12/18 19 12
12/19
12/27
AVG. MAXIMUM 45.8 41.5 4.3
AVG. MINIMUM 37.7 33.4 4.3
MEAN 41.7 37.5 4.2
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0
DAYS MAX <= 32 0 1.8 -1.8
DAYS MIN <= 32 4 12.4 -8.4
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 0.0 0.0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 16.55 1956
MINIMUM 2.25 1983
TOTALS 15.28 8.43 6.85
DAILY AVG. 0.49 0.27 0.22
DAYS >= .01 26 21.6 4.4
DAYS >= .10 24 16.1 7.9
DAYS >= .50 10 5.7 4.3
DAYS >= 1.00 4 1.9 2.1
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 3.03 12/12 TO 12/12
DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 712 854 -142
SINCE 7/1 2392 3038 -646
COOLING TOTAL 0 0 0
SINCE 1/1 4 1 3
FREEZE DATES
EARLIEST 10/08
LATEST 03/14
..........................................................
WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 11.7
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 43/160 DATE 12/12
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 63/180 DATE 12/12
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 0 MIXED PRECIP 2
HEAVY RAIN 1 RAIN 18
LIGHT RAIN 29 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 0 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 0 SNOW 1
LIGHT SNOW 8 SLEET 4
FOG 17 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 0
HAZE 8
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
WHILE PRECIPITATION WAS GENERALLY ABOVE NORMAL FOR SOUTHEAST ALASKA,
THE BIGGER STORY WAS THE WARMER THAN NORMAL CONDITIONS THAT ALL
LOCATIONS EXPERIENCED. BUT IN AN AGE OF A WARMING GLOBAL CLIMATE,
THIS SHOULD NOT BE TOO SURPRISING.
SITKA EXPERIENCED ITS 2ND WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD, JUNEAU ITS 6TH
WARMEST, KETCHIKAN ITS 13TH WARMEST, AND YAKUTAT ITS 13TH WARMEST
YEAR. TO PUT THIS INTO PERSPECTIVE, THE SHORTEST OF THESE RECORDS IS
SITKA AND IT GOES BACK TO 1944. THE LONGEST RECORD, YAKUTAT, GOES
BACK TO 1910. THERE WERE SOME NOTABLE COLD SPELLS ACROSS ALL OF
SOUTHEAST ALASKA; THE LAST WEEK OF FEBRUARY THROUGH THE SECOND WEEK
OF MARCH AND THEN AGAIN AT THE END OF OCTOBER. HOWEVER, WHEN LOOKING
AT THE DAILY TEMPERATURE RANGES FOR EACH OF THE 4 CLIMATE SITES
PLOTTED AGAINST THE NORMAL DAILY HIGHS AND LOWS, TWO THINGS BECOME
OBVIOUS. FIRST OF ALL, OVERNIGHT LOWS DID NOT GET DOWN TO OR BELOW
NORMAL NEARLY AS OFTEN AS DAYTIME HIGHS ROSE TO ABOVE NORMAL VLAUES.
SECONDLY, THE DEGREE TO WHICH DAILY HIGHS WERE HIGHER THAN NORMAL
WAS SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER THAN THE DEGREE TO WHICH OVERNIGHT LOWS
WERE LOWER THAN NORMAL, MEANING THAT THE AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURES
WERE SKEWED WARMER THAN NORMAL. ALSO NOT SURPRISINGLY, DAILY HIGH
TEMPERATURE RECORDS WERE SET 21 TIMES THROUGH THE YEAR WITH AT LEAST
ONE EVENT AT EACH OF THE CLIMATE SITES. CONVERSELY, ONLY 2 RECORD
LOW TEMPERATURES WERE RECORDED DURING THE YEAR; ONCE AT JUNEAU AND
ONCE AT SITKA. INTERESTINGLY, AS THE LA NINA WINTER OF 2022-2023
ENDED, MANY WERE EXPECTING TO SEE BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES FOR THE
SEASON. IN FACT, ONLY KETCHIKAN CLOSED OUT THE WINTER WITH BELOW
NORMAL TEMPERATURES. THIS WAS DUE IN LARGE PART TO A VERY WARM
JANUARY ACROSS SOUTHEAST ALASKA.
THE BEGINNING OF SPRING FEATURED HEAVY SNOW ON THE 1ST OF MARCH AND
THEN AGAIN AT THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH, BUT VERY LITTLE AFTER THAT
TIME. PRECIPITATION TOTALS FOR THE MONTH WERE, HOWEVER, BELOW NORMAL
AND THE EXCESS SNOW WAS A RESULT OF COLDER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES.
TEMPERATURES FINALLY TRENDED ABOVE NORMAL BY MAY AND WHAT FOLLOWED
WAS SOME EXCELLENT SUMMER IN SPITE OF PRECIPITATION REMAINING ABOVE
NORMAL THROUGH JUNE. THE SUMMER ENDED IN AUGUST WITH A GLACIALLY
DAMMED LAKE RELEASE AT SUICIDE BASIN. THIS RELEASE PRODUCED AN ALL
TIME RECORD FLOODING EVENT ON THE MENDENHALL RIVER. TWO HOMES WERE
COMPLETELY DESTROYED WHEN THEY FELL INTO THE RIVER DUE TO RIVERBANK
EROSION AND SEVERAL OTHER STRUCTURES WERE CONDEMNED DUE TO THE RIVER
UNDERCUTTING THEIR FOUNDATIONS. THE FAST FLOWING FLOOD WATERS
ALTERED THE PATH OF THE RIVERBED, DRAMATICALLY SO IN SOME LOCATIONS.
FALL BEGAN WITH MUCH ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FROM SEVERAL
ATMOSPHERIC RIVERS THAT IMPACTED THE REGION. MODERATE FLOODING
OCCURED ON JORDAN CREEK NEAR THE JUNEAU AIRPORT AND SITKA CAME CLOSE
TO RECORDING A NEW PRECIPITATION RECORD FOR THE MONTH. A VERY STRONG
AUTUMN STORM AFFECTED ALL OF SOUTHEAST ALASKA IN THE DAYS BEFORE
THANKSGVING. HIGH WINDS OCCURED ACROSS ALL OF SOUTHEAST ALAKSA WITH
SNOW OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE PANHANDLE AND RAIN TO THE SOUTH.
THE COMBINATION OF WIND AND SNOW PRODUCED BLIZZARD CONDITIONS IN THE
JUNEAU AREA. THE STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN ALSO RESULTED IN
TRAGEDY WHEN A DEADLY LANDSLIDE STRUCK THE COMMUNITY OF WRANGELL IN
A SCENARIO ALL TOO SIMILAR TO THE FATAL LANDSLIDE THAT OCCURED IN
HAINES IN 2020.
BY THE BEGINNING OF THE WINTER AND THE END OF 2023, A STRONG EL NINO
HAD DEVELOPED AND THIS WAS REFLECTED IN MONTHLY AVERAGE TEMPERATURES
FROM 4 TO 6 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL AT THE PRIMARY CLIMATE SITES. NOT
SURPRISINGLY, EVEN THOUGH PRECIPITATION WAS ONCE AGAIN ABOVE NORMAL,
SNOW TOTALS WERE BELOW NORMAL.
FRITSCH
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