Alaska Climate Research Center

The Alaska State Climate Center
The Alaska State Climate Center
The Alaska State Climate Center
Home > City Summaries > Utqiaġvik December 2013

Utqiaġvik December 2013


Highlights

In Barrow, the December mean temperature was  -2.5°F, 5.3°F above the normal of -7.8°F. The warmest temperature for the month was on the 7th, with a balmy 30°F, tying a record set in 1972. On the 3rd, a temperature of 28°F was recorded, equaling the old record for that day also set in 1972. The coldest temperature for the month occurred on the 27th, with a cold -36°F observed. 

Precipitation for Barrow was higher than normal with 1.17" observed which is 1.03" above normal. Snowfall was also much heavier than normal, with 13.1" of snow observed or 9.6" above the normal of 3.5. On the 7th, 0.24" of precipitation was recorded, breaking the previous record of 0.16" set in 1923, and the snowfall of 3.0" was 0.6" above the record set in 1923 as well. Two days later, on the 9th, the daily precipitation record (0.36") and snowfall record (3.9") broke records for that day as well, with the previous precipitation record set in 1967, and the previous snowfall record being set in 2011. The mean wind speed for December was 13.2 mph, with the highest gust of 48 mph recorded on the 1st, from a westerly direction.