Alaska's coldest July since 2008 held the fire season down, and then August turned

July was Alaska's coldest since 2008, the 20th coldest of 102 on record, and the rain that came with it held the fire season down. August then ran warmer than July, a reversal recorded only four times in 102 years, after 1941, 1959 and 1977.

Speaking of the July cold, state climatologist Martin Stuefer said in an Aug. 13 University of Alaska report that "the persistent rainfall kept the ground wet and also helped keep wildfire activity unusually low for this time of year." The Alaska Climate Research Center's August summary, which says the month broke a cooler-than-normal pattern running since January, reports the season's burned area doubled to 88,717 acres. The Mukluk Fire, which started near Tok on Aug. 17, destroyed about 50 homes, and the fire season was extended in the Delta, Tok and Copper River areas through Sept. 14.

August averaged 52.4 degrees, edging out July's 51.8, a gap of 0.6 degrees. Measured against 1991-2020 normals, the 30-year averages, July ran 2.33 degrees below normal and August ran 1.99 degrees above. August ranked tenth warmest of 102, behind 2004 and 1977. June through August averaged 51.6 degrees statewide, the 28th warmest of 102 summers and two-tenths of a degree below the 1991-2020 average. August precipitation was 4.57 inches, exactly the 30-year average and the 43rd wettest of 102. The rankings come from NOAA's statewide climate records.

Anchorage's August mean was 57.5 degrees against a normal of 57.5, with no days at or above 90. Juneau is where the warmth showed, averaging 58.5 degrees against a normal of 56.0 and reaching 85 degrees on August 14, nine degrees above normal and a record for August at the airport in a period beginning in 1936. Fairbanks averaged 60.1 degrees in July against a normal of 62.9.

All thirteen Alaska climate divisions, the regional units NOAA uses for state records, finished August above normal, with departures ranging from 0.60 degrees in Division 11 to 3.45 in Division 5, and six divisions posted a top-12 warmest August in their own records.