On the morning of December 5th the temperature at Utqiaġvik, Alaska, the northernmost community in Alaska (71.3°N) briefly reached 40°F (+4.4°C). This is the highest temperature on record in December at Utqiaġvik, and indeed is the highest temperature any date between October 30th and April 22nd. Overall, winter temperatures have risen dramatically in recent decades at Utqiaġvik and all of northwest Alaska, so it may surprise you to learn that the absolute highest temperatures show no trend at all. Fig. 1 plots the highest temperature each December since 1920. A couple of things stand out. First, just eyeballing the graphic you can see there’s no significant trend: the ten highest temperature are spead out over the centruy, while the ten lowest December high temperatures span the secondhalf of the 20th century. Secondly, December maximum temperatures are not evenly scattered on either side of the 103-year median (23°F, -5C). While some Decembers have had monthly high temperatures far below the median, until this month no December had seen a temperature more than 11°F (6°C) warmer than that. This “ceiling” right around freezing makes this year’s high temperature so impressive.
Record Winter Warmth at Utqiaġvik
Record Winter Warmth at Utqiaġvik
Record Winter Warmth at Utqiaġvik
On the morning of December 5th the temperature at Utqiaġvik, Alaska, the northernmost community in Alaska (71.3°N) briefly reached 40°F (+4.4°C). This is the highest temperature on record in December at Utqiaġvik, and indeed is the highest temperature any date between October 30th and April 22nd. Overall, winter temperatures have risen dramatically in recent decades at Utqiaġvik and all of northwest Alaska, so it may surprise you to learn that the absolute highest temperatures show no trend at all. Fig. 1 plots the highest temperature each December since 1920. A couple of things stand out. First, just eyeballing the graphic you can see there’s no significant trend: the ten highest temperature are spead out over the centruy, while the ten lowest December high temperatures span the secondhalf of the 20th century. Secondly, December maximum temperatures are not evenly scattered on either side of the 103-year median (23°F, -5C). While some Decembers have had monthly high temperatures far below the median, until this month no December had seen a temperature more than 11°F (6°C) warmer than that. This “ceiling” right around freezing makes this year’s high temperature so impressive.