Temperature Milestone for Fairbanks, Alaska
You did it, Fairbanks! The central Alaska city—approximately 140 miles south of the Arctic Circle—reached a temperature of 70 degrees for the first time in 2018 on Wednesday. It had been just over 8 months since the last time Fairbanks experienced a 70 degree temperature!
The Fairbanks airport hit the 70 degree mark today for the first time since September 4th. As of 4 PM, the high so far today at the airport was 71°F.
Last year the first high in the 70's occurred on 5-16. #akwx
— NWS Fairbanks (@NWSFairbanks) May 10, 2018
What is interesting is that the day before—Tuesday—Fairbanks broke the 60-degree mark for the first time this year.
The Fairbanks airport just hit 60° for the first time this year. Last year the 1st 60 degree day occurred on May 2nd.
The mean date for the first 60 degree day at the Fairbanks airport is May 2nd. #akwx
— NWS Fairbanks (@NWSFairbanks) May 8, 2018
Looking ahead, temperatures are expected to rise a few degrees more on Thursday. Highs will top out near 75 degrees in Fairbanks.
The average high temperature in early May in Fairbanks is in the upper 50s. It’s also not uncommon for the city to reach 70 degrees during the month of May. In fact, the hottest temperature ever observed in Fairbanks in May was 90 degrees in 1947!
With more daylight and warmer temperatures, the Interior Alaska snowpack will continue to melt. River flooding will be a concern throughout the month.
The Yukon River ice broke up at Eagle this afternoon. Avg breakup is May 4th. The ice also went out at Dawson City today. This photo was taken by the River Watch team monitoring the Yukon River. Eagle is below the bluff in the distance. #akwx #AKRiverWatch pic.twitter.com/kILUZNstrq
— NWS Fairbanks (@NWSFairbanks) May 9, 2018
Above average temperatures are also impacting other parts of the United States. Follow WeatherNation on air and online as we track the building heat across the Lower 48.