Deadhorse, Alaska, Sets State Record High For Any Arctic Ocean Location

Jon Erdman
Published: July 15,2016
An Alaska North Slope town just shattered an all-time record high – not just at that location, but also anywhere near the state's Arctic coast, the latest superlative in a record-smashing warm year-to-date.
Deadhorse, Alaska, a community of mainly oil workers about 500 miles north of Fairbanks, soared to a high of 85 degrees Wednesday, July 13.

Location of Deadhorse, Alaska, about 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle on Alaska's North Slope.

This was not only an all-time record high in Deadhorse, dating to 1968, topping a high of 83 degrees from June 21, 1991. More impressive, however, is was also the hottest temperature on record anywhere in the state within 50 miles of the Arctic Ocean, according to Alaska-based climatologist, Dr. Brian Brettschneider.
Deadhorse is a mere 6 miles from the Arctic coast at Prudhoe Bay and about 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
North winds from the Arctic Ocean typically keep this part of the North Slope cool even during this warmest time of year. Average high temperatures in mid-July are only in the low-mid 50s.
In this case, an expansive dome of high pressure aloft wrapped over northern and eastern Alaska.
Coupled with winds blowing from the hotter Alaskan interior, rather than the Arctic Ocean, the stage was set for record warmth there.

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NWS Fairbanks ✔ @NWSFairbanks

Wednesday was a very warm day across northern Alaska. Another hot day is expected today!

9:51 AM - 14 Jul 2016

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At 70 degrees north latitude, Deadhorse was hotter than both Philadelphia (84 degrees) and Boise, Idaho (83 degrees) on July 13.
The next day's low temperature (58 degrees) was actually warmer than the average high of the day (around 54 degrees).
Fairbanks also set a tied a daily record high July 13, soaring to 88 degrees. In fact, a few interior Alaskan locations topped the 90-degree mark, which caught the attention of the National Weather Service office near Tampa, Florida.

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It's not just warm here, take a look at the current temperatures across portions of Alaska. #flwx #akwx

9:56 PM - 13 Jul 2016

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While not nearly as warm, America's northernmost city, Barrow, also chalked up record warmth.
Their low temperature of 50 degrees on July 13 tied the monthly record warmest low from July 20, 1968 and July 26, 1956.
Barrow's average high on July 13 is 47 degrees.
This yet another notable in what's been far and away the warmest year-to-date on record in our 49th state in 2016.

Alaska's mean January-June temperature from 1925-2016 (purple trace) compared to the long-term 1925-2000 average (horizontal gray line). The record-setting January-June 2016 is denoted by the red arrow.
(NOAA/NCEI)

The first six months of 2016 were the warmest such period on record in Alaska, according to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, obliterating the previous such warmest period in 1981 by 2.5 degrees.
It's been so warm that earlier in the week, Barrow witnessed its first thunderstorm in three years, according to Brettschneider.
Interestingly enough, meteorologist Phil Vida noted there have been a number of lightning strikes over the Arctic Ocean over the past two weeks.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been an incurable weather geek since a tornado narrowly missed his childhood home in Wisconsin at age 7.