Weather warmest in 69 years

The last time July 18 was this hot in Juneau, the Dodgers were in Brooklyn and Harry Truman was president.

According to measurements taken by the National Weather Service, the thermometer at Juneau International Airport reached 82 degrees at 5:44 p.m. Monday, tying the record set at the airport in 1947.

Unofficial measurements were even higher. In downtown Juneau, where records have been kept intermittently since 1890, the thermometer topped out at 83 degrees, breaking a record that has stood since 1918, when the high was 82 degrees.

Temperatures hit 79 at the base of Eaglecrest and reached 78 in Auke Bay. In the Mendenhall Valley, the peak was 78 degrees as well.

In comparison, the high temperature in San Diego, California was 74 degrees.

According to Anchorage-based climatologist Brian Brettschneider, Juneau sees two 80-degree days in an average year. Monday was the second day of 2016 to reach the 80-degree mark. The first was June 17, when the thermometer hit 80 degrees exactly.

The heat was felt across Southeast Alaska: Skagway reached 79, Ketchikan 78, Craig 77 and Hoonah 82 degrees. The hottest temperature in Southeast on Monday was 88 degrees, recorded at the border station north of Haines.

Monday was the 150th consecutive day of above-normal temperatures in Alaska using a 25-city composite index. This year remains on track to be the hottest ever recorded in Alaska, on pace to beat last year’s hottest year on record. Locally, Juneau is not immune to these trends. The first six months of the year were the warmest ever recorded in the capital city.

Conditions are expected to be cooler and closer to normal in Juneau for the rest of the week. The Weather Service forecast calls for highs in the low 60s each day through Sunday.

—