National Weather Service National Headquarters

• Home
• Site Map
• News
• Organization
• Search for: NWS All NOAA 

000
CXAK57 PAJK 021856
CLMYAK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
1047 AM AKDT SAT SEP 02 2023

...................................

...THE YAKUTAT CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2023...

CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD: 1991 TO 2020
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD: 1917 TO 2023

WEATHER         OBSERVED          NORMAL  DEPART   LAST YEAR`S
                VALUE   DATE(S)   VALUE   FROM     VALUE
                                          NORMAL
..............................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
 HIGH             88   08/15/2004
 LOW              29   08/24/1974
HIGHEST           76   08/05         70       6
LOWEST            40   08/18         38       2
AVG. MAXIMUM    62.1               61.8     0.3
AVG. MINIMUM    50.6               47.5     3.1
MEAN            56.4               54.7     1.7
DAYS MAX >= 90     0                0.0     0.0
DAYS MAX <= 32     0                0.0     0.0
DAYS MIN <= 32     0                0.0     0.0
DAYS MIN <= 0      0                0.0     0.0

PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
 MAXIMUM       28.39   1942
 MINIMUM        1.05   2019
TOTALS          9.37              13.91   -4.54
DAILY AVG.      0.31               0.45   -0.14
DAYS >= .01       21               19.3     1.7
DAYS >= .10       12               14.7    -2.7
DAYS >= .50        8                8.6    -0.6
DAYS >= 1.00       4                5.0    -1.0
GREATEST
 24 HR. TOTAL   1.34   08/11 TO 08/12

DEGREE DAYS
HEATING TOTAL    259                321     -62
 SINCE 7/1       533                618     -85
COOLING TOTAL      0                  0       0
 SINCE 1/1         0                  0       0

FREEZE DATES
EARLIEST                        09/24
LATEST                          05/17
..............................................................

WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED              4.8
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION    23/120    DATE  08/16
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION    36/120    DATE  08/16


WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM              0     MIXED PRECIP               0
HEAVY RAIN                4     RAIN                      14
LIGHT RAIN               21     FREEZING RAIN              0
LT FREEZING RAIN          0     HAIL                       0
HEAVY SNOW                0     SNOW                       0
LIGHT SNOW                0     SLEET                      0
FOG                      28     FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE      3
HAZE                      1

-  INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R  INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T  INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.

$$

...EXCELLENT SUMMER WEATHER CONTINUES FOR SOUTHEAST ALASKA IN
AUGUST IN ADDITION TO MASSIVE FLOODING ALONG THE MENDENHALL RIVER...

The bigest news of the month was the record flooding on the
Medenhall River near Juneau that occurred on the 5th and 6th of
August. At that time, the glacially dammed lake known as Suicide
Basin broke and allowed multi-billion gallons of water to escape
underneath the glacier and empty into Mendenhall Lake. Leading up to
this flooding event, the basin had filled steadily over the past
several months from a combination of snow melt, ice melt, and runoff
from periodic bouts of rainfall through the season. The release
occurred later in the Summer than average, which allowed it to fill
higher than usual. Water overtopped the glacier for a few days
before the big release. The release occurred rather quickly with the
majority of the flooding along the Mendenhall River occurring within
a 24-hour period. The gauge on Mendenhall Lake broke its previous
depth record by nearly 3 feet with a crest of 14.97 ft slightly
before midnight on the 5th of August. The previous record was 11.99
ft, which was set during the 2016 release. This record-breaking
event caused many homes, roads, and the Skater`s Cabin campground to
flood. The high water and the force of the water also prompted the
closure of the bridge over the river on Back Loop Road. The erosion
of the meandering riverbanks also resulted in the direct loss of 2
homes and the condemmnation of multipe structures due to undermining
of their foundations.

In other monthly climate news, at a time of the year when
precipitation is on the rise across Southeast Alaska, there were a
good number of days with sunny skies & dry conditions which kept
temperatures above average for the month for all 4 climate sites.
Most days were dominated by a ridge of high pressure, which kept
much of the region under decreased cloudiness and drier conditions
and resulted in below normal rainfall totals for most, but not, all
locations. One of the exceptions was Sitka. The central outer coast
experienced above normal rainfall for the month, primarily due to
receiving heavier and more plentiful shower activity from
topographic enhancement from more abundant onshore-flow for the
month.

Regarding records for August, Juneau Airport received 0.94" of
rainfall on the 1st , which exceeded the previous record of 0.84",
which was set back in 1970. Juneau Airport also set a new record
high of 81 degrees on August 6th, which broke the old record of 78,
which was set back in 2017. On the 7th, Ketchikan set a new rainfall
record of 3.18", which exceeded the old record there of 2.33" set
back in 2006. On the 12th, Sitka recorded 4.42" of rainfall, which
broke the old record of 4.22" set back in 1961. Finally, on the
27th, Sitka tied the old high temperature record of 73, set back in
1966.

Chambers/Fritsch
$$