Summer’s last gasp may have come in the first days of September.
On Tuesday, the temperature at Juneau International Airport hit 70 degrees. It’s only the 25th time in the past 80 years that Juneau has seen a 70-degree day in September, and it’s the first time since Sept. 18, 2010 that Juneau has seen a 70 degrees in the first month of climatological fall.
Juneau’s three-month summer is typically over by the time September begins: The month’s average high temperature is just 55.7 degrees, and it’s normally the rainiest month of the year, with 8.64 inches of precipitation.
The airport has been the city’s official National Weather Service measuring point for the past 80 years, and it’s typically cooler than downtown Juneau and other parts of the borough. On Tuesday, morning fog lingered and a sea breeze from Lynn Canal kept temperatures low at the airport until deep into the afternoon. The 70-degree mark didn’t show up until just before 5 p.m.
At Snettisham, the temperature topped out at 75. That was also the high temperature at the base of Eaglecrest, where hikers were taking advantage of the sunshine.
In the Mendenhall Valley, temperatures at the National Weather Service office reached 69 degrees, and the high in downtown Juneau was 65, though it may have felt warmer in streets that collected and focused the sun’s warmth.
Elsewhere in Southeast Alaska, temperatures rose higher. Craig reached 73. Yakutat had 74, toppling a 60-year-old record of 70 degrees. Pelican hit 76, and in Sitka, it was 72.
Ketchikan’s 80-degree day broke a record set in 1918 on that date, and in Klawock, where it was 83 degrees and the hottest place in Southeast Alaska, it was only two degrees cooler than the highest temperature ever recorded in Alaska in September.
All measurements were taken by the weather service.
Now, of course, comes the rain. Warm and sunny conditions continued Wednesday morning in Juneau, but by then the rain had reached Sitka, and it arrived in the capital city Wednesday afternoon.
Forecasts are calling for continued rain, heavy at times, into next week, with temperatures in the 50s.
Juneau has had just 14 70-degree days this year. The average is 19 70-degree days.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com or call 523-2258.
