alaska weather & climate highlights June–august 2015

FlOODing

high rain

high snOw

high temp

wilDFire

winD

INTERIOR ALASKA

Atigun Pass, Aug 27: Up to 8" snow falls over 4,700' pass, 

requiring plowing by AKDOT and chains on vehicle tires. 

Healy area, June 21–23: Multiple fires started by 

lightning quickly grow into the Rex Complex and 

destroys several homes.

Western Denali National Park (near Eielson Visitor 

Center), Aug 27: A hiker drowns while trying to cross 

a rain-swollen tributary of Stony Creek.

Fairbanks, Aug 28–30: Heavy rains over several days, 

>3" in some places, raise upper Chena River to 

minor flood stage. Moose Creek Dam near North 

Pole impounds water for several days to prevent 

flooding further downriver.

SOUTHEAST ALASKA

Juneau: Summer rainfall of 23.98" is second 

only to 2014 as wettest summer on record.

Nulato, June 23: Elders and 

children evacuate as wildfire burns 

right to edge of town. 

Barrow, Aug 27: Waves erode sand and gravel berms, allowing seawater to 

flow inland and closing off road between Barrow and Browerville. 

SOUTHEAST ALASKA

Sitka, Aug 18: A landslide kills 

3 people, caused in part by 

>2.5" rain in 6 hours.

Annette (Metlakatla): 3rd

warmest summer on record 

(average temp 60F).

SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA

Willow, June 14–20: Sockeye wildfire 

destroys almost 60 buildings, burns more than 

7,000 acres and requires hundreds of people 

to evacuate. 

Anchorage, June 16: Warmest daily average 

temperature (72F) since 1953.

Anchorage, July 25: >2" rain in 12 hours causes flooding 

and evacuation of an apartment building in Midtown.

Sterling, June 15–19: Card Street wildfire destroys 3 homes, 

burns many outbuildings in first 2 days and grows to >9,000 acres 

by end of June. 

Chiniak, Aug 28: Rare late 

summer wildfire burns 

community library before winds 

subside and fire is contained. 

Aniak, June 25: Elders and children evacuate 

from the North Aniak wildfire.

Juneau

anchOrage

Fairbanks 

annette

sitka

barrOw

healy area

w Denali np

atigun pass

sterling

willOw

chiniak

nulatO

aniak

alaska temperatures, °F June–august 2015

“Significantly above” = Within the Warmest third 

oF values compared to the 1981–2010 reFerence period

“Significantly below” = Within the coolest third 

oF values compared to the 1981–2010 reFerence period

39.5

44.7

47.8

53.7

50.3

55.6

48.1

38.1

56.8

51.3

60.2

56.1

56.5

58.8

52.6

56.9

56.9

55.6

56.0

54.0 56.4

56.8

57.1

54.9

60.0

SIGNIFICANTLY BELOW NORMAL

SIGNIFICANTLY 

ABOVE NORMAL

data and analyses are preliminary and subJect to revision.

NEAR NORMAL

Juneau

anchorage

Fairbanks 

sitka petersburg

barroW

prudhoe bay

cold bay

ketchikan

nome

denali np

cordova yakutat

bettles 

ivotuk Wx

homer

kodiak

king salmon

bethel

kotzebue

eagle

northWay

gulkana

pribiloFs

mcgrath

kaltag

tanana

alaska precipitation, inches June–august 2015

“Significantly Wetter” = Within the Wettest third 

of values compared to the 1981–2010 reference period

“Significantly Drier” = Within the driest third of

values compared to the 1981–2010 reference period

NEAR NORMAL

NEAR NORMAL

NEAR NORMAL

SIGNIFICANTLY 

WETTER THAN 

NORMAL

SIGNIFICANTLY WETTER 

THAN NORMAL

SIGNIFICANTLY DRIER 

THAN NORMAL

2.66 2.40

6.69

4.55

5.80

5.15

5.19

5.21

8.41

5.71

5.40

6.84

6.39

7.26

7.68

4.24

6.97

2.87 20.64

6.50

8.21

6.00

13.80

34.37 23.98

27.91

21.24

data and analyses are preliminary and subJect to revision.

Juneau

anchorage

barroW

cold bay

ketchikan

nome

denali np

homer

kodiak

bettles 

king salmon

bethel

pribilofs

northWay

eagle

talkeetna gulkana

cordova yakutat

sitka

kotzebue

prudhoe bay

ivotuk Wx

mcgrath

kaltag

tanana

fairbanks 

Data and analyses are preliminary and subject to revision. Source: noaa National Centers for Environmental Information.

NAT OI NAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRAT OI N

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

ALASKA REGION june–august 2015

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook

Weather and Climate Highlights

“Significantly above/below” = within the warmest/coolest third of values 

compared to 1981–2010 reference period

“Significantly wetter/drier” = within the wettest/driest third of values 

compared to 1981–2010 reference period

Temperature Anomalies Precipitation Anomalies
Content and graphics prepared in partnership with the 

Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy and 

the National Weather Service Alaska Region

Alaska Region Partners NOAA / NESDIS / NCEI

Scenarios Network for Alaska + Arctic Planning

visit ncdc.noaa.gov for more climate news. 

For more information, please contact:

JAMES PARTAIN james.partain@noaa.gov

RICK THOMAN richard.thoman@noaa.gov

 #regionalclimateoutlooks

Regional Highlight: wildland fire in alaska 

Regional outlooks: OCT–DEC 2015

fire perimeters across climate divisions

alaska wildland fire acreage: 

seasonal totals, 1950–2015

alaska wildland fire: 

cumulative average, 2015

Precipitation: Chances for a significantly wetter than normal 

Oct–Dec are slightly increased across the southern mainland, 

northern Panhandle and Kodiak due to the influence 

of a strong El Niño. Chances for a significantly wetter than normal 

season are slightly increased across the Brooks Range and North 

Slope due to dramatically increased open water—which serves as 

an increased moisture source—in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas 

compared to the 1981–2010 reference period. 

Temperature: Chances for significantly warmer than normal 

temperatures for Oct–Dec are increased across Alaska due to 

combined influences of a strong El Niño, warmer than average sea 

surface temperatures in the N Pacific and Gulf of Alaska, and 

greatly reduced early autumn sea ice cover in the Beaufort and 

Chukchi Seas compared to the 1981–2010 reference period. 

Left: The large majority of acreage 

burned in 2015 was in the Central 

Interior division. Many of these fires 

were ignited during a week in mid-June 

of intense lightning from slow moving 

thunderstorms. Substantial acreage also 

burned over inland portions of the West 

Coast and Bristol Bay divisions.

Acreage burned was comparatively low 

in both the Northeast and Southeast Interior 

divisions, thanks to somewhat wetter conditions during 

late June and early July compared to areas farther west. The 

Cook Inlet division, as usual, burned little acreage compared to 

the vast Interior fires, but occurred in areas with many residents and 

so were very destructive despite the small area burned. 

Wildfires burned 5.15 million acres this summer, the second 

greatest area burned in a season in 66 years of reliable 

records. Unlike previous years with very large burn acreage, 

when warm dry Augusts lengthened the fire season, more than 

90% of this total burned between June 15 and July 15, and the 

typical August rains largely halted the spread of fires. There 

were 104 fires that burned more than 10,000 acres, and nine 

fires that exceeded 100,000 acres. 

Data and analyses are preliminary and subject to 

revision. Source: Alaska Interagency Coordination Ctr