The National Weather Service issued its first-ever heat advisory in Alaska on Friday.
The advisory, a warning to the public of warm weather expected in the Fairbanks area on Sunday, is the first in a state known for glaciers and fjords — but it’s not because forecasters are expecting records to be shattered.
It’s just the first because the option to issue one is new.
Ciara Santiago, a forecaster with the Weather Service office in Fairbanks, said that in the past, the agency had issued “special weather statements” to alert residents in Alaska to warm weather. It’s a catchall term the Weather Service uses for a variety of weather, including heat events.
This month, the Weather Service adopted the “heat advisory” language for unseasonably warm weather to provide clearer messaging. A forecast high of 85 on Sunday in Fairbanks is the first opportunity the agency has had to use it. (It’s far short of the record high for the date there: 96 degrees, set in 1969.)
85 degrees feels hot in Alaska, where air-conditioning is scarce.
The heat is coming to this part of Alaska because of high pressure building into the region. Fairbanks is also expected to reach 85 degrees on Monday and Tuesday, and the Weather Service was likely to issue advisories for those days too.
Ms. Santiago said that 85 degrees might not seem especially hot to someone living in, say, Texas, where she grew up, but it’s very warm for people in Alaska, where highs in June are typically in the 70s and most homes and buildings don’t have air-conditioning.
This spring, Alaska has experienced unusually cool weather; it wasn’t until Wednesday that Fairbanks reached 70 degrees for the first time.
“This is another reason why it was so important for us to issue this heat advisory,” Ms. Santiago said. “It really hits home that this new weather pattern shift is a stark difference to what we were experiencing in the last couple of weeks.”
The Weather Service office in Fairbanks also issued a flood watch from Friday to Tuesday for the North Slope, a region north of Fairbanks, warning that the rapid melting of snow could cause ice jams in rivers.
“These jams can cause sudden and severe rises in water levels, posing a significant threat to roads or other infrastructure near the affected waterways,” the Weather Service said.
Amy Graff is a Times reporter covering weather, wildfires and earthquakes.
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