Alaska’s most populous city Anchorage has a subarctic climate with average summer daytime temperatures ranging from 55 to 78°F. The previous historic July high was 85°F in 1969. However Thursday July 2, 2019 hit a new record at the airport when the mercury rose to 90°F. SKY News reports an Alaskan heat dome trapping hot ocean air ‘like a heat or a cap’ is causing this.
Is the Alaskan Heat Dome a Climate Change Event?
This is true to an extent. Although strong maritime influences always assured a relatively moderate climate for Anchorage. However, this has been trending warmer owing to declining sea ice and the ocean temperatures rising.
This pattern – of which the Alaskan heat dome is an extreme example – has knock-on effects. Local communities, wildlife, and even the state economy have been taking strain. Thousands of puffins died of starvation after fish migrated to cooler waters. The National Weather Service (NWS) reports the heat dome will linger for a while according to National Herald.
The Underlying Cause is a High Pressure Ridge
The NWS attributes the heat dome “to an oversized and stationary high pressure ridge that’s pulling in warm air”. This is coming from the south and preventing cool ocean air from entering inland. Rick Thoman from the University of Alaska Fairbanks says “the record highs are both a weather story and indicative of climate change.
“These kinds of extreme weather events become much more likely in a warming world,” Rick Thoman continues. “The entire Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea, and the Chukchi Sea south of the ice edge are all feeling the effect. Hence we have exceptionally warm waters, warmest on record. And of course record-low sea ice extent for this time of year, off the north and northwest coasts of the state.”
Meanwhile residents are having the time of their lives visiting Alaska’s famous natural wonders in the balmy weather.
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Preview Image: Anchorage Skyline at Bootleggers Cove
