Highlights

KEY OBSERVATIONS

Temperature

Alaska as a whole was moderately warmer than the 1991-2020 normal with a deviation of 0.9°F. All of the Alaska climate divisions were also above average, with highest positive deviations on the North Slope. Utqiaġvik was once again the warmest of the selected First Order stations in relative terms with an annual deviation of almost 3.3°F.

Precipitation

Precipitation was regionally variable. The North Slope had the highest precipitation anomalies and continued a streak of wetter than average years, as did the Interior. The southern regions of the Panhandle had an unusually dry summer and experienced moderate drought conditions between July and September.

Snowfall

2023/24 was another very snowy season in Anchorage with 171% of normal snowfall. In contrast, the start to the current winter season (2024/25) in Anchorage has been relatively dry. Fairbanks has had an above average snow season so far in 2024/25 with substantial snow falls in October and December. In Juneau, January was exceptionally snowy with over 300% of normal monthly snowfall.

Wildfire season

Wildfires burned just over 667,000 acres in Alaska in 2024. This is close to the average value for the satellite record, i.e. a “normal” season by the numbers. Looking at the timing of the 2024 fire season, most of the acreage burned in June. Rainy weather dampened fire activity in July and August. Despite the fairly condensed and overall moderate season, individual fires proved disruptive due to hazardous air quality in Interior communities and impacts on tourism in Denali National Park.

Sea ice extent

Arctic sea ice reached its minimum extent for 2024 on September 11 at 1.65 million square miles. This was the seventh lowest minimum extent in the satellite record.