Baked Alaska? Unusual warm stretch has Anchorage in the 40s
That's the first time the temperature has been over 40 for four days in a row in January since 2009, according to the National Weather Service.
(National Weather Service, Anchorage)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The first sign of winter's demise was given along Alaska's Arctic Coast when the sun rose above the horizon for the first time in two months.
Farther south in Anchorage, one just had to step outside to get a sense. The temperature in Anchorage Monday reached over 40 degrees for the fourth consecutive day.
According to the National Weather Service, that's the first time the temperature has been over 40 for four days in a row in January since 2009. (2009 would go on to have five days at 40-plus in a row.)
Combined with a cold snap in the southeastern U.S. and you had some wild temperature comparisons, like Jacksonville, Florida, with a Monday morning low of 27 being colder than Anchorage's 35-degree morning.
Warmer Monday morning in Anchorage, AK than Jacksonville, FL
Monday morning, areas of Florida including Jacksonville, Florida dropped below freezing. Anchorage, Alaska sees four days in a row where temperatures reached 40 degrees.
Highs in the mid 40s with lows in the low 30s ends up roughly 21 degrees above average for Anchorage in mid-late January.
Even Fairbanks reached the mid-20s for highs, which might not sound warm until you see that it is also about 20 degrees above average. The town had a low of -20 on Thursday, and lows were in the -30s and -40s the first week of the year.
But before those in Alaska start thinking it's time to put away the heavier coats, more traditional colder weather is on its way back. Snow is forecast for Tuesday in Anchorage, and then highs will drop back into the 20s with lows in the teens to single digits later in the week, while Fairbanks will drop several degrees below zero again.