Baked Alaska: All-Time Record Heat Grips State

Nick Wiltgen Published: Jun 18, 2013, 0:50 PM EDT weather.com

• Share
• Tweet
• 6

Alaska Vacation Forecast

Autoplay

ON

OFF

Alaska, well known for its long and brutal winters, is now in the grips of a historic heat wave.

As an unusually strong and very warm ridge of high pressure is parked in the upper atmosphere above Alaska, at least five cities broke all-time record highs Monday:

* Talkeetna, 75 miles north of Anchorage, reached 96 degrees. Just a day earlier, it had tied its all-time record high of 91, also set June 14, 1969 and June 26, 1953. The 96-degree high was hotter than any town in the entire state of Florida on Monday.

* McGrath hit 94 degrees, crushing its all-time record of 90 set June 15, 1969 and just tied on Sunday. McGrath is deep in the interior of southwest Alaska, 215 miles northwest of Anchorage.

* Cordova hit 90 degrees, breaking its record of 89 set July 16, 1995. Cordova is on the coast 145 miles east of Anchorage.

* Valdez touched 90 degrees as well, erasing its record of 87 set June 25-26, 1953. Valdez is on an arm of Prince William Sound, 120 miles east of Anchorage.

* Seward hit 88 degrees, eclipsing its all-time high of 87 set July 4, 1999. Seward is on the coast of the Kenai Peninsula, 80 miles south of Anchorage.

Nome, on the state's west coast, hit 84 degrees Monday to surpass its June record of 83 set June 7, 2004. Its all-time record high of 86 (July 8, 1968 and July 31, 1977) remains intact.

Alaska's two largest cities shared the heat, though without breaking records. Fairbanks reached 86, well short of the 99 it saw July 28, 1919. Anchorage's high of 81 fell short of the historical high of 86 on June 25, 1953.

The hot dome of high pressure responsible for this weather will break down later this week. Marine influences will cool coastal towns first; the heat will hold on for several more days in the interior. Click on the names of the cities above for the five-day forecast.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Global Warming Effects in Alaska

1 / 9

Global Warming Effects in Alaska

GETTY IMAGES

An arch made from Bowhead whale bones lies June 4, 2006 in Browerville, Alaska. Scientists continue to study changes in the Earth's climate which many attribute to the emission of greenhouse gases. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)