Fairbanks feels the heat

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - Hot, humid, and highs of 88°F aren’t in the minds of most Alaskans but that has been the trend for the last few days.

Residents in Interior Alaska are very much used to the cold winter months and are often prepared. On the flip side, the summer months can be considered the opposite and leave people scrambling for air conditioners or fans.

This heat is no stranger because the hottest months in the greater Fairbanks area are typically June and July. Normally, the highs are in the 70′s with a few days that reach into the 80′s. This week, the temperature has been 15 degrees above normal.

Ryan Metzger, meteorologist at the National Weather Service located at the Syun-Ichi Akasofu Building on the University of Alaska Fairbanks Troth Yedda Campus explains much of what we feel. “We have this big area of high pressure that’s come into eastern Alaska from Canada and that’s brought a lot of hot air with it so that area of high pressure is over top of us and helping us keep pretty warm,” said Metzger.

This high pressure is not an anomaly but a pattern that occurs multiple times each summer. In short, we can expect this hot weather for a short period of time over summer. Although, these temperatures feel record breaking when outside, they are not.

It hasn’t quite gone above historical records. Metzger explains, “Oddly enough like the temperatures that we’ve had over the past couple of days, haven’t been records. Today the record is 89 and so were going to be right there with that again today. Most of the records these past couple of days has been from 1968 so that would’ve been a similar pattern to what we’re seeing here today.”

So make sure you take breaks when working outside, stay hydrated, and wear lots of sunscreen.

If you’d like more weather updates, please visit the National Weather Service’s website.

Copyright 2023 KTVF. All rights reserved.