By Chaffin Mitchell, AccuWeather staff writer
Temperature records in Alaska were shattered in March, making it the warmest March to date for many locations in the state.
"In Utqiagvik (formerly known as Barrow) this was the warmest March on record. March 2019 ended up averaging a whopping 18.6 F above the 1981-2010 normal average and 6.6 F above the previous warmest March on record, which happened to be 2018," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brett Anderson said.
This is startling: for Alaska as a whole, March is going to be the 29th month since Jan 2013 to be ranked in the warmest ten percent since 1925. That's 39% of months. In the same period, one month, April 2013, ranks in the coldest 10%. #akwx #Arctic @Climatologist49 @IARC_Alaska
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"This past Saturday was only the third day in the past 99 years that the temperature in Utqiagvik was above freezing with a high of 33 degrees," Anderson said. On the other end of that extreme during this time frame, Barrow's record low temperature was set in 1924 when the mercury dipped all the way down to 56 below zero.
According to Anderson, eight of the 10 warmest Marches on record have all occurred since the mid-1990s in Utqiagvik.
"There were a total of five days in March where the temperature in Fairbanks reached the 50s. The only other March that had more 50-degree days was March 1915 with seven," Anderson said.
This unseasonably warm weather will cause early snowmelt in some areas.
Some places on the North Slope and in Northwest Arctic Borough were more than 20 F (11 C) above normal.
"This past Saturday temperatures averaged around 40 degrees F above normal along the North Slope with high temperatures in the mid- to upper 30s. Normal highs for this time of year are more like zero to minus 5 F," Anderson said.
Seven record highs were set in Anchorage in March. On Saturday, March 30, the city ended a streak of 102 consecutive days with an inch or more of snow on the ground. The National Weather Service stated if the city does not receive any more accumulating snow this year, 2019 will have the fourth earliest meltout on record. The earliest was March 22, 2016, and the average date is April 17.
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Anderson said he thinks March 2019 will be tied with March 2018 for the lowest sea ice extent on record for the Bering Sea.
Rick Thoman, a climate specialist for the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the University of Alaska Fairbanks saidscientists are still looking to determine the reason behind the low extent.
(Photo/NOAA)
These images taken five years apart show the difference in the Bering and Chukchi seas ice extent.
(Photo/NWS Anchorage)
(Photo/NWS Anchorage)
(Photo/NWS Anchorage)
"The Bering and southern Chukchi seas experienced 'near or at record' warmth during summer and autumn months since 2014, which delays freeze-over when winter rolls around," Thoman said. "Stormy weather from January to March also helped melt some of the thinner ice in the region."
Thoman added the low ice extent has had a substantial economic impact on coastal communities that rely on the ice for crabbing, fishing and walrus hunting.
The warmth will not be as pronounced across the interior region this week.
"Temperatures are not expected to be nearly as warm this week across the interior of Alaska, with temperatures averaging slightly above normal," Anderson said.
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