Heat advisory covers Noatak, Kobuk and Seward Peninsula zones until 8 p.m. Saturday

Residents of the Noatak Valley, the Lower Kobuk Valley and the northern and interior Seward Peninsula are under a heat advisory until 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, with highs of 75 to 80 degrees forecast. The heat peaks through the afternoon and early evening before temperatures cool off overnight.

The National Weather Service office in Fairbanks issued the advisory and warns that "individuals not accustomed to these unusually hot temperatures for this region may experience heat related illnesses." Residents are told to drink plenty of fluids and check on elderly and vulnerable relatives and neighbors. Older adults, young children and people with chronic medical conditions face the highest risk.

It is the third Arctic heat advisory the office has issued since Wednesday, following ones for the Lower Kobuk Valley alone Wednesday and for the Western and Central Arctic Plains Thursday. The office widened Saturday's window twice before it took effect.

The week's one verified record came from a community never under any advisory. Utqiagvik reached 70 degrees at 3:29 p.m. Thursday, breaking the August 13 daily record of 66 degrees set in 1991, according to the Fairbanks office. The reading sat 25 degrees above the 1991 to 2020 normal high of 45. Utqiagvik lies in the Northern Arctic Coast zone, left out of all three advisories.

Observations for Saturday inside the four advisory zones are not yet available, and no health record ties the week's heat to any illness.