June Summary for Fairbanks

From my colleague Corey… 

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
343 PM AKDT SUN JUL 1 2012

...JUNE WEATHER SUMMARY FOR FAIRBANKS...

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 61.6 DEGREES WAS 1.2 DEGREES ABOVE
NORMAL. IT JUST BARELY CONTINUED THE TREND OF ALTERNATING COLD AND
WARM MONTHS AT FAIRBANKS THAT DATES BACK TO OCTOBER 2011. FOR THE
MONTH...THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE AT THE AIRPORT WAS 72 DEGREES
AND THE AVERAGE LOW 51. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH OF 86
DEGREES WAS OBSERVED ON THE 23RD AND THE LOW FOR THE MONTH OF 43
OCCURRED ON THE 13TH. NONE OF THE OBSERVATION SITES IN THE AREA
HAD FREEZING TEMPERATURES. EVEN KJNP IN NORTH POLE WHICH ON MANY
YEARS WILL HAVE A SPRING FREEZE IN EARLY OR MID JUNE HAD A MONTHLY
LOW OF 41 DEGREES...THE WARMEST ON RECORD SINCE 1969.

TEMPERATURES MUCH OF THE MONTH WERE NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL...BUT
THERE WERE A COUPLE OF PERIODS AROUND MID MONTH AND TOWARD THE END
OF THE MONTH WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES. THERE WERE 4 DAYS
WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 80 DEGREES OR ABOVE...JUST ONE SHY OF
THE JUNE AVERAGE. THERE WERE THREE CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH A HIGH
TEMPERATURE OF 80 DEGREES OR WARMER FROM THE 22ND THROUGH THE
24TH...WITH A PEAK TEMPERATURE OF 86 DEGREES ON THE 23RD. THE
HIGH OF 86 WAS THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE OBSERVED AT THE AIRPORT
IN NEARLY A YEAR SINCE A HIGH OF 88 DEGREES ON JUNE 25TH 2011.

RAINFALL WAS FREQUENT...BUT MOSTLY ON THE LIGHT SIDE. THERE WERE A
TOTAL OF 14 DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION AT THE AIRPORT...3
MORE THAN NORMAL FOR JUNE. THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION OCCURRED ON
THE 26TH WHEN A STEADY RAIN FELL AT THE AIRPORT FROM THE LATE
MORNING INTO THE EARLY EVENING AND PRODUCED 44 HUNDREDTHS OF AN
INCH OF RAIN. FOR THE MONTH...A TOTAL OF 1.39 INCHES OF RAIN WAS
OBSERVED WHICH WAS JUST 2 HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH ABOVE NORMAL.
RAINFALL ON THE HILLS WAS NOT MUCH HIGHER AT KEYSTONE RIDGE WITH A
TOTAL OF 1.66 INCHES FOR THE MONTH. EAST OF FAIRBANKS...EIELSON
AIR FORCE BASE OBSERVED SIGNIFICANTLY MORE RAIN WITH A TOTAL OF
2.57 INCHES.

AREA RIVERS MOSTLY FELL DURING THE MONTH OF JUNE. THE CHENA RIVER
STARTED THE MONTH ON THE HIGH SIDE BUT FELL THROUGHOUT THE MONTH
AND WAS AT LOW LEVELS AT THE END OF THE MONTH. SNOW AND ICE MELT
IN THE ALASKA RANGE COMBINED WITH RAINFALL IN THE UPPER TANANA
BASIN TO CAUSE THE TANANA RIVER AT FAIRBANKS TO RISE SIGNIFICANTLY
DURING THE FIRST TWO WEEKS OF THE MONTH...AND FROM THE 10TH TO THE
15TH LEVELS WERE AT OR NEAR RECORD DAILY DISCHARGE VALUES AT
FAIRBANKS. THE TANANA THEN FELL FOR SEVERAL DAYS BEFORE SLOWLY
RISING DUE TO RAINFALL AT THE END OF THE MONTH. NO FLOODING WAS
REPORTED ON ANY AREA RIVERS DURING THE MONTH OF JUNE.

THE FIRE SEASON STARTED TO PICK UP LATE IN THE MONTH AFTER A
PERIOD OF WARM AND DRY WEATHER...BUT FREQUENT SHOWERS DURING THE
LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH PUT THE BREAKS ON THE FIRE SEASON. AT THE
END OF JUNE...A TOTAL OF 144,222 ACRES HAD BURNED STATEWIDE...WHICH
IS FAR BELOW NORMAL AND ALSO WELL SHORT OF LAST YEAR.

LOOKING AHEAD TO JULY...NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURES PEAK OUT DURING
THE FIRST HALF OF THE MONTH AT 74 DEGREES AND THEN SLOWLY FALL TO
70 ON THE 31ST. NORMAL LOW TEMPERATURES ARE IN THE LOW 50S ALL
MONTH. JULY IS TYPICALLY THE WETTEST MONTH OF THE YEAR WITH AN
AVERAGE MONTHLY RAINFALL OF 2.16 INCHES. OVER THE
YEARS...RAINFALL HAS VARIED SIGNIFICANTLY DURING THE MONTH OF
JULY WITH THE RECORD DRIEST AND WETTEST JULY`S IN THE PAST TEN
YEARS. IN 2009 ONLY 6 HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH OF RAIN WAS
OBSERVED...AND IN 2003 A RECORD 5.96 INCHES OF RAINFALL WAS
OBSERVED. TYPICALLY THERE ARE 3 DAYS DURING THE MONTH WHEN A
THUNDERSTORM IS OBSERVED AT THE AIRPORT...BUT IN MOST YEARS THERE
ARE MANY MORE DAYS WITH THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE HILLS TO THE NORTH
AND EAST OF TOWN.

THE SUN REMAINS VISIBLE ABOVE THE HORIZON PAST MIDNIGHT DURING THE
FIRST TWO WEEKS OF THE MONTH...AND THERE CONTINUES TO BE 24 HOURS
OF USABLE DAYLIGHT UNTIL THE 27TH AT WHICH POINT THERE IS NO
LONGER 24 HOURS OF CIVIL DAYLIGHT. SOME OF THE BRIGHTEST STARS
WILL BRIEFLY BECOME VISIBLE AGAIN BY THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH.

THE FORECAST FOR JULY FROM THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER INDICATES
THAT THERE ARE NO STRONG CLIMATE SIGNALS THAT WOULD TILT THE ODDS
IN FAVOR OF AN UNUSUALLY WARM OR COOL JULY...AND THERE ARE ALSO NO
STRONG CLIMATE SIGNALS THAT POINT TOWARD AN UNUSUALLY DRY OR WET
JULY.