ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Summer weather continues to build in across the state, as a ridge is greatly influencing the weather across Mainland Alaska. Temperatures have been warming into the 70s and 80s through the Interior, while Southcentral has seen highs in the 60s and the 70s. This stretch of warm weather will remain through the week, accompanied by possibly thunderstorm development.

While hot and dry conditions have been building, the Aleutians are dealing with wet and breezy weather. This comes as a low near the Aleutians continues to lift to the north. Expect widespread rain through parts of this region, with the heaviest rain near the Pribilof Islands. Winds will gust anywhere from 30 to 65 mph. As the rain pushes to the northeast, it will run into ridging and quickly taper off into Wednesday. Some light rain showers look possible through parts of Southwest Alaska tomorrow morning, before the rain comes to an end.

Outside of the Aleutians and areas with thunderstorm formation, Alaska will remain on the drier side this week. While the ridge isn’t strong enough to cap thunderstorm development, it will prevent its widespread activity. It’s likely isolated to scattered storms will persist through the Interior and in Southcentral Alaska. A quick reminder that burn permits have been suspended in the Mat-Su Valley and Fairbanks due to the hot and dry conditions.

Any storms across Southcentral today will primarily impact western parts of the Matanuska Valley, the foothills of the Talkeetna Mountains and into the Copper River Basin. Storm motion will be to the north, so Anchorage and surrounding locations will largely stay dry. A rogue thunderstorm can’t be ruled out for the Kenai, but any precipitation will come in the form of spotty to isolated morning showers.

This hot and dry weather pattern continues through the end of June. Here in Southcentral, the weekend is once again shaping up to warm into the 70s.

Have a wonderful and safe Tuesday!

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Summer is in full force across Alaska, and for many Alaskans, the past two weeks feel more like summer than most of 2023.

Anchorage reached 75° and above three times this month. We’ve only seen three days over 75° in June six times in recorded history. The overall average temperature for June is currently only about half of a degree above what is normal but is about 2 degrees above June to date of 2023. This month’s rainfall is also significantly lower than what most of Anchorage experienced last June. June of 2023 brought 17 days with measurable precipitation, this year, we’ve seen just four days with rain.

The dry stretch will continue with temperatures holding slightly above average for most of Southcentral this week. Be prepared for isolated thunderstorms near the Alaska Range and in the Copper River Basin on Tuesday.

The number of active wildfires in the state is up to 115 as of Monday evening, 21 of those are new in the past 24 hours. More than 5,000 lightning strikes were recorded in Alaska on Monday, following more than 6,000 on Sunday.

With high fire danger continuing, use extra caution to keep from adding any additional human-caused fires.

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