May 2017 Statewide Summary
Alaska Statewide
Climate Summary
May
2017
Temperature
The mean monthly temperature for May 2017 was above
normal with the
mean temperature of all First Order Stations at 44.4°F, 1.6°F above the normal of 42.8°F. This is 3.2°F below the May
2016 mean of 47.6°F. Calculating the mean daily temperatures of the First Order Stations,
the first 23 days of the month were above the 30-year normal, followed by a
week of below normal temperatures. The last day of the month was again above
normal. The greatest positive deviation occurred on the 11th with
5.4°F above normal, and the greatest negative deviation occurred on the 26th
with -4.0°F. (see Figure). Monthly mean temperatures were above normal for 17
of the 19 of the First Order Stations (see table). Gulkana was the only station
reporting a below normal mean temperature with 44.4°F, 0.8°F below its May
normal of 45.2°F. Barrow held the spot
with the greatest positive deviation in May with 3.5°F above its normal of
21.1°F. The
only other station with deviations greater than or equal to 3°F was Bettles
with 3.0°F above its normal of 44.4°F.
Station |
Temperature |
||
Observed |
Normal |
Delta |
|
Anchorage |
47.9 |
47.8 |
0.1 |
Annette |
52.2 |
50.2 |
2.0 |
Barrow |
24.6 |
21.1 |
3.5 |
Bethel |
44.8 |
41.9 |
2.9 |
Bettles |
47.4 |
44.4 |
3.0 |
Cold Bay |
41.9 |
40.3 |
1.6 |
Delta Junction |
48.8 |
47.6 |
1.2 |
Fairbanks |
49.8 |
49.4 |
0.4 |
Gulkana |
44.4 |
45.2 |
-0.8 |
Homer |
47.4 |
44.5 |
2.9 |
Juneau |
49.1 |
48.6 |
0.5 |
King Salmon |
45.1 |
44.2 |
0.9 |
Kodiak |
45.2 |
44.3 |
0.9 |
Kotzebue |
34.8 |
31.9 |
2.9 |
McGrath |
48.7 |
46.7 |
2.0 |
Nome |
38.7 |
36.8 |
1.9 |
St. Paul Island |
38.8 |
36.2 |
2.6 |
Talkeetna |
48.0 |
47.8 |
0.2 |
Yakutat |
45.3 |
44.7 |
0.6 |
The highest daily maximum
temperature of the First Order Stations for May was 73°F reported at Annette on
the 16th and 27th, and Talkeetna on the 31st. Annette held the spot for the highest
mean temperature for the month at 52.2°F. The lowest temperature of
5°F was observed at Barrow on the 1st, and Barrow also reported the lowest May mean monthly
temperature with a value of 24.6°F.
Daily mean temperature deviation from the normal temperature for the mean
of the First Order Stations for May 2017.
There were a very limited
number of new temperature record events this May. On the 12th,
Kotzebue's high of 64°F broke the old 1954 record by 1°F. St. Paul hit a high
of 48°F on the 19th, breaking the 2014 record of 46°F. Kodiak set a
new daily low of 32°F on the 26th, 2°F below the old record from
1939.
Precipitation
Reversing the trend from
the last two months, May's precipitation was decidedly above normal, with the
overall precipitation calculated as 48% above the average; this calculation was
based on the mean of the deviations in percentage of the First Order Stations.
Fourteen of the First Order Stations and 15 days of the month reported above
normal values. This is considerably wetter than May 2016, which reported a
precipitation deficit of 33%. The greatest daily precipitation amount occurred
on the 24th. The station reporting the greatest precipitation
deviation was Barrow at 422% above normal with 0.94", 0.76" above its
normal of 0.18". The relatively driest station was King Salmon at just 86%
of normal. Kotzebue matched its normal for May with 0.41".
Station |
Precipitation |
||||
Observed |
Normal |
Delta |
Delta |
(%) |
|
Anchorage |
1.06 |
0.72 |
0.34 |
47% |
147% |
Annette |
9.58 |
5.56 |
4.02 |
72% |
172% |
Barrow |
0.94 |
0.18 |
0.76 |
422% |
522% |
Bethel |
2.31 |
1.14 |
1.17 |
103% |
203% |
Bettles |
0.77 |
0.88 |
-0.11 |
-13% |
88% |
Cold Bay |
1.94 |
2.60 |
-0.66 |
-25% |
75% |
Delta Junction |
1.13 |
0.90 |
0.23 |
26% |
126% |
Fairbanks |
0.59 |
0.60 |
-0.01 |
-2% |
98% |
Gulkana |
0.97 |
0.65 |
0.32 |
49% |
149% |
Homer |
1.13 |
0.82 |
0.31 |
38% |
138% |
Juneau |
5.19 |
3.40 |
1.79 |
53% |
153% |
King Salmon |
1.07 |
1.25 |
-0.18 |
-14% |
86% |
Kodiak |
7.17 |
5.62 |
1.55 |
28% |
128% |
Kotzebue |
0.41 |
0.41 |
0.00 |
0% |
100% |
McGrath |
1.41 |
1.09 |
0.32 |
29% |
129% |
Nome |
0.94 |
0.86 |
0.08 |
9% |
109% |
St. Paul Island |
1.55 |
1.13 |
0.42 |
37% |
137% |
Talkeetna |
2.40 |
1.62 |
0.78 |
48% |
148% |
Valdez |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0% |
0% |
Yakutat |
8.26 |
8.21 |
0.05 |
1% |
101% |
Daily mean precipitation deviation from the normal for the First Order
Stations for May 2017.
May's highest monthly
precipitation total reported for a First Order Station was 9.58" at
Annette. Yakutat reported the highest daily total of 3.25" on the 21st,
a new daily record, breaking the old record of 1.50" from 1975. It was the
wettest May on record for Barrow with 0.94", just topping the 2014 record
of 0.90". Also for Barrow, it was the second snowiest May on record with
10.3", 2.6" less than the 1933 record. It was the third wettest May
for Haines, and fifth wettest for Bethel.
There were a fair number of
daily precipitation records set this May, and most were set in the Southeastern
area during the storm on the 21st. Barrow set a snowfall record of
4.2" on the 25th, breaking the old record of 1.0" from
1973.
|
Precipitation
Records |
||||
Date |
Station |
Element |
New |
Old |
Year of |
05/02/17 |
Kodiak |
Precipitation |
1.39 |
1.18 |
2008 |
05/06/17 |
Kodiak |
Precipitation |
1.92 |
1.53 |
2005 |
05/08/17 |
Juneau |
Precipitation |
0.65 |
0.58 |
2001 |
05/14/17 |
Delta Junction |
Precipitation |
0.26 |
0.24 |
1982 |
05/20/17 |
Sitka |
Precipitation |
1.09 |
1.05 |
1948 |
05/21/17 |
Auke Bay |
Precipitation |
1.05 |
0.48 |
1993 |
05/21/17 |
Haines Airport |
Precipitation |
2.37 |
0.58 |
1956 |
05/21/17 |
Juneau |
Precipitation |
1.53 |
0.39 |
1968 |
05/21/17 |
Sitka |
Precipitation |
1.79 |
0.49 |
1956 |
05/21/17 |
Yakutat |
Precipitation |
3.25 |
1.50 |
1975 |
05/22/17 |
Skagway |
Precipitation |
0.5 |
0.2 |
2012 |
05/24/17 |
McGrath |
Precipitation |
0.49 |
0.46 |
1976 |
05/25/17 |
Barrow |
Precipitation |
0.45 |
0.34 |
2015 |
05/26/17 |
Nome |
Precipitation |
0.30 |
0.22 |
1918 |
Newsworthy
Events
The Nenana Ice Classic
ended on at 12 pm ADT on May 1st as the ice moved on the Tanana
River at Nenana and stopped the clock. The same day the snow depth officially
dropped to zero at the Fairbanks International Airport. The next day the
temperature at the Fairbanks Airport hit 60°F for the first time for 2017. Also
on May 2nd, avalanche reduction efforts were initiated on the Dalton
Highway in Atigun Pass. A strong storm in the Gulf of Alaska generated high
winds along the Panhandle on the 2nd with gusts up to 74 mph
reported at Cape Sensor and Cape Decision, 59 mph at Hydaburg, 46 mph at
Ketchikan and Sitka, 43 mph at Juneau and Skagway and 41 mph at Annette. The
storm had a reported low pressure of just 968 hPa. Pea-sized hail fell at
Juneau on the 3rd.
On the 3rd the
Kuskokwim River broke up at Aniak, and the same day the Yukon broke up at
Dawson in the Yukon Territory. The next day Kuskokwim River broke up at
Kalskag, while hazardous driving conditions were reported along the Dalton
Highway near milepost 29 due to water flowing over the road. The problem persisted
into the 5th. Also on the 4th, the Yukon River was
reported broken up at Eagle, while the Kuskokwim Ice Classic tripod tipped at
Bethel. Minor flooding was reported at Circle on the 6th, and then
the Yukon River broke up at Circle two days later. The Koyukuk River was also
reported to have broken up at Bettles on the 8th. Finally, the Yukon
broke up at Rampart on the 13th. All considered,
it was a quiet breakup along the Interior Rivers with just minor flooding
reported at Circle and Manley Hot Springs.
May 8th was
Green Up Day at Fairbanks. Also on the 8th, Manly Hot Springs
reported the first 70°F temperature for 2017. The sun rose at Barrow at 2:54 am
on the 10th and will stay above the horizon until August 21st.
The same day Anchorage reported 60°F for the first time in 2017 and the next
day the same happened at Skagway. Anchorage did not report 70°F mark until the
31st.
This VIIRS satellite image shows the
low-pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska on 3 May 2017. Image provided
courtesy of the National Weather Service.
Snow was reported falling
and sticking at Eureka on the 14th. Avalanche reduction efforts were
held in Atigun Pass on the Dalton Highway on the 14th. Almost
3.5" of rain fell at Fawn Lake near Ketchikan on the 15th. Both
Fairbanks and Juneau reported the first high of 70°F on the 16th.
For Juneau, this is about two weeks earlier than usual. The Denali highway
opened to summer traffic on the 16th, and final avalanche reduction
efforts were happening in Atigun Pass on the Dalton Highway.
A strong storm impacted the
Panhandle on the 21st with high winds and heavy rain. Little Port
Walter recorded 8.52", 3.25" fell at
Yakutat, 2.52" at Pt. Baker and 2.03" at Sitka. Wind gusts up to 57
mph were reported at Cape Decision, 52 mph at Lincoln Island, 46 mph at
Hydaburg, 40 mph at Juneau, 35 mph at Annette, and 33 mph at Sitka.
With the plunging
temperatures on the 25th, hail was reported along Turnagain Arm,
while both hail (up to pea-sized) and snow were reported around Fairbanks on
the 26th, with up to an inch of snow reported in the hills out of
town. Snow was reported falling and sticking along the Richardson Highway at
Thompson Pass. Snow was also reported at higher elevations in the Denali Park
area. Up to two feet fell at the 7,200 ft. basecamp on Denali. More snow, up to
3", was reported in Denali Park on the 30th.
Burn prohibitions were
issued for Eastern Interior areas of Delta Junction to Tok on the 25th.
The suspension remained in effect till the end of the month.
This information consists of
preliminary climatological data compiled by the Alaska Climate Research Center,
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks. For more information on
weather and climatology, contact the center at 907-474-7885 or visit the center
web site at http://akclimate.org. Please
report any errors to webmaster@akclimate.org. This
summary is based on the 19 First Order Stations in Alaska operated by the
National Weather Service. Extreme events of other stations are also mentioned.