The nation's northernmost community just closed out its warmest October on record, and other far-north parts of Alaska also posted records for autumn warmth, the National Weather Service said.
The monthly average temperature in Barrow, set for a name
The nation's northernmost community just closed out its warmest October on record, and other far-north parts of Alaska also posted records for autumn warmth, the National Weather Service said.
The monthly average temperature in Barrow, set for a name change to Utqiagvik on Dec. 1, was 30.1 degrees Fahrenheit, the weather service said. That was 12.9 degrees warmer than the 1981-2010 average and 2.6 degrees higher than the previous record-warm October, which occurred in 2012, according to National Weather Service data. There were several new daily records set over the month, including the warmest October day ever in Barrow, Oct. 10, when the temperature hit 44 degrees.
Weather records in Barrow go back to 1920. It was once the site of a Navy research lab.
Three other coastal communities — Kotzebue, Nome and St. Paul – also posted record-warm October averages, the National Weather Service said.
For Barrow, this October's weather is part of a strong pattern over the last decade and a half. Every October after 2001 has been significantly warmer than average there. That is a departure from decades of up-and-down monthly temperatures for Barrow, which had its second-coldest October on record in 1988, the year that three whales got trapped in rapidly forming ice, triggering a rescue that attracted global attention.
Barrow's new pattern of warm autumns is linked to reduced Arctic sea ice. When there is no ice covering the sea, heat in the water rises into the atmosphere and warms Barrow and similarly situated places.
But this fall, lack of ice has not been the only factor heating up Barrow, said Rick Thoman, climate science and services manager for the National Weather Service in Alaska.
"Of course, no ice in Barrow in October means it has to be warm," Thoman said. Added to that, he said, is a very persistent weather p