While much of the lower 48 of the United States has been mired in some chilly temperatures so far this October, one place sure hasn’t seen much cold weather: Alaska.
Through Sunday, Anchorage, Alaska’s average temperature so far this month is a whopping 48.1°, more than 10° above the month-to-date average.
That number will almost assuredly go down as the coldest days of the month have yet to be counted, but, barring a substantial change in the forecast, Anchorage is very likely to clinch its warmest October on record. This is coming off of a nearly equally warm September there, where Anchorage clinched its hottest September on record with an average temperature of 55.0°.
It’s not just Anchorage, though. McGrath, Alaska is 12.3° above average and Nome, Alaska, located in the northwestern portion of the state, is over 11° above average so far this month. Fairbanks, Barrow and Bethel are all well above average as well.
It’s all due to a persistently warm pattern of ridging (a warm upper level air pattern) coupled with warm storms moving in from the south, drawing up rain and warmer weather. It looks to stay unsettled for much of this week, which will keep things above average through much of the Last Frontier.
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For WeatherNation: Meteorologist Chris Bianchi