Unusually Warm Temperatures

Observation by Louie Commack:

Unusually warm summer temperatures in Ambler.

Comments from LEO Editors:

According to data recorded by an Ambler weather station, the normal high temperature for this area in July is 72.3 degrees Fahrenheit. However, temperatures during the summer of 2019 were unusually warm across the state. The Alaska Climate Research Center map shows the monthly temperature departure from normal in communities across the state. Near Ambler, Kotzebue recorded July temperatures 9.17 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.

LEO received other observations of usually warm temperatures from members in Anchorage and Unalakleet, and other communities. Along the same latitude, Reykjavík, Iceland also experienced the warmest July on record. In Alaska, water as well as air temperatures rose during the hot summer. A LEO Network member in Nome reported water surface temperatures to be 17 degrees above normal. River water temperatures were so hot that salmon were dying as they migrated upriver. The conditions that led to those events are described in more detail in the attached KYUK article. Erica Lujan