Optimum Climate Normals Alaska-wide

Reader Richard was asking about the past decade's temperature anomalies Alaska-wide, so here's a sample from around the state. The departures here are again standardized, so direct station to station comparisons are valid.

There are a couple of region-wide trends, with cooler temperatures than the 1981-2010 normals having been the rule the past ten years state-wide in both January and March, while late summer and autumn are notably milder. Juneau has been slightly, but persistently cool in almost every month, reflecting the now negative phase of the PDO (the 1981-2010 normals consist mostly of positive phase PDO). Recall the negative phase of the PDO corresponds to cooler than normal sea surface temperatures near Alaska. In contrast, Barrow has been remarkably warm the latter half of year, which is definitely a direct result of the decline in Arctic sea ice.