Record Breaking Heat in Alaska
Jun 4, 2019 2:30:27 GMT
Post by Hildegard on Jun 4, 2019 2:30:27 GMT
Record-Breaking Heat In Alaska Wreaks Havoc On Communities, Ecosystems
May 31, 2019 by sd
From The Smithsonian:
Alaska HeatAlaska in March is supposed to be cold. Along the north and west coasts, the ocean should be frozen farther than the eye can see. In the state’s interior, rivers should be locked in ice so thick that they double as roads for snowmobiles and trucks. And where I live, near Anchorage in south-central Alaska, the snow pack should be deep enough to support skiing for weeks to come. But this year, a record-breaking heatwave upended norms and had us basking in comfortable—but often unsettling—warmth.
Across Alaska, March temperatures averaged 11 degrees Celsius above normal. The deviation was most extreme in the Arctic where, on March 30, thermometers rose almost 22 degrees Celsius above normal—to 3 degrees. That still sounds cold, but it was comparatively hot.