To say October in Alaska was dry is an understatement. Locations in Southwest, South Central, and the western Interior observed less than half of normal precipitation; but most of the central and eastern Interior, as well as the Panhandle, recorded only a couple hundredths of an inch at most. This means eastern Alaska is starting out into one of its driest early winters on record.
Why so dry? We could blame this on the transition from El Nino to La Nina, but the reality is that there are numerous factors out there influencing the track of the jet stream and the air masses that move over the state. In fact, the jet stream spent little time over any part of Mainland Alaska last month, meaning that atmospheric changes were slow, and therefore relatively benign and dry. Let’s hope the pattern changes soon, and that we get some snow on the ground, for the sake of insulation (no frozen pipes!), fun (skiing, riding, etc.) and a slower start to next year’s fire season (wetter springtime fuels).
Categories: AK Fire Info
Alaska Wildland Fire Information 