Hot temps in Alaska?

[quiescentlyfrozen]

I'm a bit confused, and looking for guidance! My confusion revolves around the fact that lately I've seen some reviews indicating really hot reather for Alaska in various ports. Most recently, I saw one indicating 90 or 93 degree weather in Juneau.

 

So I've been checking weather.com and a few other sites, looking for their 10 day prediction that will include the start of my trip, and the forecast looks more reasonable - 60's etc. Now I know that it's 10 days out an can be wrong... However, that's not the weird part.

 

The confusing part is that I've also checked the "observed" or "historical" weather in some of these ports for the last month or two. For example, I checked Juneau to see what's been "observed" since the beginning of June, and there was no high in sight above the 70's.

 

Yet, some reviews have listed temps in the 90's in some ports/on some days (and specifically mentioned Juneau recently in the low 90's)!

 

So my question is... why wouldn't "observed" temps be showing what passengers are reporting? I hate to assume that passenger reviews are wrong - especially when more than one review has indicated really hot weather in some differen ports. But at the same time, I really have no idea why even the historical/observed stats from somewhere like weather.com would be wrong.

 

Any ideas?

 

PS - I'm not just OCD... curious to get to the bottom of this for packing purposes. And just because it's perplexing :-)

[vbmom87]

Sorry, I can't help you with the discrepancy. I also have been reading about the record highs.

 

When we went to Alaska last year in June, we experienced record lows. Last summer ended up being one of the coldest summers ever in Alaska. Goes to show, you just never know, and be prepared for all types of weather.

[vbmom87]

I did find this for Juneau and June 2009. It is showing 86 as the high for June.

 

http://lowbandwidth.arh.noaa.gov/wmofcst.php?wmo=CXAK57PAJK&type=public

 

This link is showing some 80s for Juneau in July 2009. So far I haven't found anything in the 90s, but it all depends who is reporting from what station I guess.

 

http://westjuneau.com/weather/noaamo.txt

[tetleytea]

Alaska will definitely hit the 90's in some places, and not everyone has air conditioning. So when it does, it can be hard to escape at times. Alaska's a big place. And it's got mountains and glaciers, etc., so temps can vary a lot. I don't know why the official temps are so low, but I can vouch that temps are very much capable of hitting the 90's. If you are staying overnight anywhere not on a cruise ship, check to see if they have AC. It's something you take for granted down in the 48, but not up there.

[maadimom]

Just returned from a July 4 - 11 cruise. The temps were hot. We had zero days of rain. 87 in Juneau, 89 in Skagway, and 80 something in Ketchikan. The shops in Ketchikan were boiling. I was extremely envious of the tanks and shorts I saw some wearing. I had on some hiking pants and a short sleeve T for our Glacier Point Wilderness Safari and roasted. It's amazing how much hotter 89 can feel up there than down here in Austin. I'd kill for 89 here! This 3 digit temperature stuff is killing me.

 

Oh, I had checked the forecast before we left, too. The highest temp forcast 2 days before I left said mid-70's. So, take that for what it is because I wish we had had those temps over the 80's, but not complaining....no rain was a huge blessing.

 

Just be prepared for both conditions and you should be fine.

[AkSusan]

The whole state is sitting under one big high system pressure. Officially hit 80 here last week but I can tell you it was hotter than that in other parts of town, it's just the official station is closer to the inlet. We've been in the high 70s, low 80s (except for Saturday I think the high was high 60s) for the last week.

 

It was even suppose to hit 70 on the North Slope today. Fairbanks has been running mid 80s and up.

 

So, so much for historical data on our weather patterns. Just come prepared for anything because never know when we'll swing the other way.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

[Choozin Croozin]

The whole state is sitting under one big high system pressure. Officially hit 80 here last week but I can tell you it was hotter than that in other parts of town, it's just the official station is closer to the inlet. We've been in the high 70s, low 80s (except for Saturday I think the high was high 60s) for the last week.

 

It was even suppose to hit 70 on the North Slope today. Fairbanks has been running mid 80s and up.

 

So, so much for historical data on our weather patterns. Just come prepared for anything because never know when we'll swing the other way.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

 

Susan, I bet you are glad for this more summer-like weather? I remember your posts last summer and what an awful cool and rainy summer it was. We are kind of having that here this year. I sure hope the weather holds out for 7 more weeks. NOT 80's but 60's would be good.:D

[AkSusan]

Susan' date=' I bet you are glad for this more summer-like weather? I remember your posts last summer and what an awful cool and rainy summer it was. We are kind of having that here this year. I sure hope the weather holds out for 7 more weeks. NOT 80's but 60's would be good.:D[/quote']

Yes last year we had a lot of gray, cool days but now there are days I wish I had an air conditioner at my house :eek: At least we don't get the high humidity up here. Nothing worse with a temp of 97 or so and 100% humidity so the heat index is over 100. That's why the relatives come this way in the summer, I skip the Midwest summers as much as I can. My Mom is always telling me that I shouldn't complain about the weather because I make the choice to live here, doesn't stop me from complaining though :rolleyes:

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

[mytime53]

If you watch the weather on the evening news for Anchorage, you will see that at any one time the temps across town can vary by more than 10 degrees. The "official" site that gets reported is usually cooler than most other places.

I don't know where the weather instruments are located for Wasilla, but it is always at least 10 degrees warmer at my house (in the shade) than whereever the official temp. is taken.

Are we happy to see the more "summer-like" weather? As nice as it is (and after last summer I won't complain), it makes it difficult to sleep at night (open windows at night don't help much when it's still in the high seventies at midnight), difficult to keep the garden and lawn watered, and difficult to do any outdoor work. I know in other places these temps would be wonderfully cool for all those things, but that's one reason why I don't live in other places, and never travel in the summer. Walmart is even sold out of fans.

And now I'm headed outdoors to water my new roses...again.

[tallcruiser2]

I was in Haines last Tuesday and temp was 90.

 

TallCruiser2

[Choozin Croozin]

Yes last year we had a lot of gray, cool days but now there are days I wish I had an air conditioner at my house :eek: At least we don't get the high humidity up here. Nothing worse with a temp of 97 or so and 100% humidity so the heat index is over 100. That's why the relatives come this way in the summer, I skip the Midwest summers as much as I can. My Mom is always telling me that I shouldn't complain about the weather because I make the choice to live here, doesn't stop me from complaining though :rolleyes:

 

Susan in Anchorage :)

 

If you watch the weather on the evening news for Anchorage, you will see that at any one time the temps across town can vary by more than 10 degrees. The "official" site that gets reported is usually cooler than most other places.

I don't know where the weather instruments are located for Wasilla, but it is always at least 10 degrees warmer at my house (in the shade) than whereever the official temp. is taken.

Are we happy to see the more "summer-like" weather? As nice as it is (and after last summer I won't complain), it makes it difficult to sleep at night (open windows at night don't help much when it's still in the high seventies at midnight), difficult to keep the garden and lawn watered, and difficult to do any outdoor work. I know in other places these temps would be wonderfully cool for all those things, but that's one reason why I don't live in other places, and never travel in the summer. Walmart is even sold out of fans.

And now I'm headed outdoors to water my new roses...again.

 

LOL, I am laughing because up until mid June we had rain, rain, and more rain and 60's (I was sick of it). I took a week and visited my father in N Mexico. It was so HOT (and unusually humid for them) and I was miserable. So when I got home it was in the 90's and way too humid. I hate having the air on, because I get sick of being inside all the time in the winter. Well we finally got rid of the hot.....now we are back to 70's. Not good swimming weather, but it is at least pleasant and I can have the windows open. I hear what both of you are saying. I just have to laugh because I think I have about a 5 degree spread in my "comfort zone". I am STILL looking for that perfect climate. Michigan is NOT it, but can't find any place better.....yet. :) Hopefully you can enjoy the rest of your summer and not swelter too bad.

[Two from Virginia]

We returned from our cruise on Saturday and it was hot in all of our ports - Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. High 70s, 80s and 90s.

[H2O babe]

Two weeks in Alaska from June 24 - July 8 and the only day of rain was the last sea day sailing into Vancouver. Kenai Penisula was a bit cooler but still quite nice. Our ports of Sitka, Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan were in the high 70's and low 80's. It was beautiful weather - we were quite thankful.

 

K.

[quiescentlyfrozen]

Ok, thanks to all - that certainly seems to explain it. And I'm glad I asked!

 

I have to admit I'm disappointed - I'm coming from Florida and definitely wanted a colder-weather summer, not to go to Alaska and experience what I have here every day. But, that's the breaks - I'm sure I'll have an awesome time regardless. And it sounds like the warmer weather is appreciated at least by some of you AK'ers, if not all!

 

At least now I know to pack some cotton t's and shorts - wouldn't even have thought of it if I hadn't found cruise critic!

[SeaDawg]

Interior Alaska bakes and burns

 

The number of acres burned by wildfires across Alaska crept closer to the 1-million acre mark on Monday as the Interior continued to bake in a mid-summer heat wave that is fueling more than 70 active fires around the state.

 

As of Monday morning, a total of 393 fires had burned approximately 765,573 acres, a number that is increasing daily as a result of a two-week heat wave around the state.

 

“The betting line is we’re going to hit a million acres in the not-too-distant future,” said Alaska Fire Service fire information officer Doug Stockdale.

 

Hot, dry conditions are expected to persist through the rest of this week, Stockdale said. The high temperature in Fairbanks on Monday was 87 degrees, just short of the record of 88 degrees set in 1993.

 

The near-record marked the ninth day out of the previous 12 where the high temperature hit 80 degrees or warmer.

[mytime53]

Ok, thanks to all - that certainly seems to explain it. And I'm glad I asked!

 

I have to admit I'm disappointed - I'm coming from Florida and definitely wanted a colder-weather summer, not to go to Alaska and experience what I have here every day. But, that's the breaks - I'm sure I'll have an awesome time regardless. And it sounds like the warmer weather is appreciated at least by some of you AK'ers, if not all!

 

At least now I know to pack some cotton t's and shorts - wouldn't even have thought of it if I hadn't found cruise critic!

 

Don't be disappointed yet...there's a low coming in, so the weather will change soon. It's cloudy this morning...hopefully it moves right by quickly, because we are painting our house, and need a couple more days of no rain.

[AkSusan]

Yeap wait a day and it will do a total swing. Right now it is 58, gray cloudy (still can't see the mountains even more today between the haze and the cloud cover) and we're suppose to get into only the high 60s and rain is starting to show up in the forecast too. So in the matter of a day, all the forecasts went basically down 10 degrees in their highs. From seeing the weather map this morning Southcentral as well as Southeast Alaska is looking this way. Still lots of hot up north. Actually we do need rain to help with these fires.

 

Susan in Anchorage :)