Juneau Annual Climate Summary for 2012
CXAK57 PAJK 140623
CLMAJK
CLIMATE REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU, AK
921 PM AKST SUN JAN 14 2013
...................................
...THE JUNEAU CLIMATE SUMMARY FOR THE YEAR OF 2012...
CLIMATE NORMAL PERIOD 1981 TO 2010
CLIMATE RECORD PERIOD 1943 TO 2012
WEATHER OBSERVED NORMAL DEPART LAST YEAR`S
VALUE DATE(S) VALUE FROM VALUE DATE(S)
NORMAL
................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
RECORD
HIGH 90 07/07/1975
LOW -22 01/12/1972
02/02/1968
HIGHEST 82 06/23 78 4 77 07/11
LOWEST 2 01/17 2 0 1 02/24
AVG. MAXIMUM 45.8 48.1 -2.3 46.3
AVG. MINIMUM 34.7 36.2 -1.5 35.0
MEAN 40.2 42.1 -1.9 40.6
DAYS MAX >= 90 0 0.0 0.0 0
DAYS MAX <= 32 51 37.4 13.6 44
DAYS MIN <= 32 159 119.3 39.7 141
DAYS MIN <= 0 0 1.9 -1.9 0
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
RECORD
MAXIMUM 85.15 1991
MINIMUM 28.32 2001
TOTALS 63.42 62.27 1.15 66.40
DAILY AVG. 0.17 0.17 0.00 0.18
DAYS >= .01 225 229.8 -4.8 238
DAYS >= .10 154 146.4 7.6 145
DAYS >= .50 40 38.4 1.6 49
DAYS >= 1.00 10 8.9 1.1 10
GREATEST
24 HR. TOTAL 1.96 07/09 TO 07/10
SNOWFALL (INCHES)
RECORDS
TOTAL 212.1 1994
24 HR TOTAL 19.1 11/29/2006
SNOW DEPTH 40 03/10/1972
TOTALS 113.1 86.7 26.4 115.9
LIQUID EQUIV 11.31 8.70 2.61 11.59
SNOWDEPTH AVG. 1 MM MM 0
DAYS >= TRACE 105 43.1 61.9 98
DAYS >= 1.0 36 22.8 13.2 31
GREATEST
SNOW DEPTH 20 01/30 16 11/24
24 HR TOTAL 9.4 01/24 TO 01/25
STORM TOTAL 9.4 01/24 TO 01/25
DEGREE_DAYS
HEATING TOTAL 8974 8351 623 8793
COOLING TOTAL 1 2 -1 0
FREEZE DATES
RECORD
EARLIEST 08/24/1969
LATEST 06/13/1965
EARLIEST 10/01
LATEST 04/25
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WIND (MPH)
AVERAGE WIND SPEED 7.2
RESULTANT WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 5/109
HIGHEST WIND SPEED/DIRECTION 43/110 DATE 04/20
HIGHEST GUST SPEED/DIRECTION 56/120 DATE 02/03
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE (PERCENT) MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.80
NUMBER OF DAYS FAIR 23
NUMBER OF DAYS PC 55
NUMBER OF DAYS CLOUDY 288
AVERAGE RH (PERCENT) 81
WEATHER CONDITIONS. NUMBER OF DAYS WITH
THUNDERSTORM 1 MIXED PRECIP 9
HEAVY RAIN 6 RAIN 79
LIGHT RAIN 222 FREEZING RAIN 0
LT FREEZING RAIN 1 HAIL 0
HEAVY SNOW 1 SNOW 43
LIGHT SNOW 95 SLEET 9
FOG 232 FOG W/VIS <= 1/4 MILE 17
HAZE 0
- INDICATES NEGATIVE NUMBERS.
R INDICATES RECORD WAS SET OR TIED.
MM INDICATES DATA IS MISSING.
T INDICATES TRACE AMOUNT.
&&
...ANOTHER COOLER THAN NORMAL...WETTER THAN NORMAL...AND SNOWIER THAN NORMAL YEAR
FOR JUNEAU...
THE YEAR BEGAN WITH A TREND THAT WOULD SET THE TONE FOR THE YEAR. COLD...WET...AND
SNOWY. JANUARY TEMPERATURES WERE BELOW NORMAL BY MORE THAN A FULL DEGREE...ALTHOUGH
THAT WAS PRIMARILY DUE TO COLD DAYTIME HIGHS. DURING ONE OF THE FEW DAYS WITH ABOVE
NORMAL TEMPERATURES...RECORD RAIN FELL AT THE AIRPORT WITH 1.08 INCHES BEING
RECORDED ON THE 7TH OF THE MONTH. BY THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD WEEK OF THE
MONTH...TEMPERATURES FELL DRAMATICALLY AND STAYED WELL BELOW NORMAL FOR AN ENTIRE
WEEK. THE RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE FOR THE YEAR OCCURRED DURING THIS TIME WHEN THE
MERCURY FELL TO A MERE 2 DEGREES ABOVE ZERO ON THE 17TH OF JANUARY...A FULL 22
DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. JANUARY WAS A GOOD MONTH FOR SNOW LOVERS WITH 49.4 INCHES
RECORDED FOR THE MONTH...WHICH IS MORE THAN TWICE THE NORMAL VALUE. THE 24 HOUR
MAXIMUM SNOWFALL WAS RECORDED BETWEEN THE 24TH AND THE 25TH WHEN 9.4 INCHES FELL.
LATER THAT WEEK...A SNOWFALL RECORD WAS BROKEN ON THE 29TH WHEN 6.3 INCHES WAS
RECORDED AT THE AIRPORT. THE MAXIMUM SNOW DEPTH OF THE YEAR WAS RECORDED THE
FOLLOWING DAY ON THE 30TH WITH 20 INCHES ON THE GROUND.
FEBRUARY WAS QUITE THE OPPOSITE OF JANUARY IN ALL THREE CATEGORIES...BOASTING HIGH
AND LOW TEMPERATURES THAT WERE 3.5 DEGREES OR MORE ABOVE NORMAL. TOTAL
PRECIPITATION WAS WELL OFF THE NORMAL MARK AS WELL AT 3.10 INCHES...OR 25 PERCENT
BELOW NORMAL. RECORD WARMTH WAS RECORDED AT THE AIRPORT ON TWO SEPARATE DAYS WHEN
THE DAYTIME HIGH REACHED 48 DEGREES ON THE THIRD AND AGAIN ON THE NINTH. FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THE MONTH DAYTIME HIGHS WERE NEAR NORMAL BUT OVERNIGHT LOWS REMAINED
CONSISTENTLY ABOVE NORMAL. THE WARM TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATION SHORTAGE WAS
HARD ON FEBRUARY SNOWFALL. ONLY 5.2 INCHES WAS RECORDED WHICH REPRESENTS ONLY 30
PERCENT OF THE NORMAL 16.8 INCHES FOR THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.
BY MARCH...OVERALL TEMPERATURES WERE BACK DOWN SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL AND THIS WAS
LARGELY DUE TO THE CONSISTENTLY COLDER THAN NORMAL OVERNIGHT LOWS IN THE SECOND
HALF OF THE MONTH. A RAINFALL RECORD WAS BROKEN WHEN ON THE 8TH OF MARCH OVER 1
INCH OF RAIN FELL. IN SPITE OF THIS...MARCH TOTAL PRECIPITATION WAS BELOW NORMAL BY
NEARLY A FULL INCH. FROM THE 12TH OF MARCH TO THE END OF THE MONTH...THERE WERE
ONLY TWO DAYS WITH MEASURABLE PRECIPITATION.
SPRING SEEMED TO HAVE ARRIVED EARLY LAST APRIL IN JUNEAU. DAILY HIGHS STARTED OFF
ABOVE NORMAL AND REMAINED THERE FOR THE FIRST THREE FULL WEEKS. RECORD HIGH
TEMPERATURES WERE RECORDED AT THE AIRPORT ON THREE DAYS DURING THIS TIME WITH 62
DEGREES ON THE 12TH...57 DEGREES ON THE 16TH...AND 59 DEGREES ON THE 18TH. THE LAST
FREEZE OF THE SEASON CAME ON THE NIGHT OF APRIL 25TH. THE FIRST HALF OF APRIL WAS
ALSO VERY DRY WITH NO MEASURABLE RAIN BEING RECORDED UNTIL THE 15TH OF THE MONTH.
RECORD RAINFALL WAS RECORDED ON THE 29TH WHEN 0.67 INCHES FELL. BUT THIS WAS NOT
ENOUGH TO OFFSET THE SHORTAGE OF RAIN AND THE MONTH FINISHED OUT AT 1.68 INCHES
TOTAL PRECIPITATION...OR 43 PERCENT BELOW NORMAL.
MAY WEATHER WAS QUITE COOL AND WET AND DID NOT PERPETUATE THE WARM AND DRY SPRING
WEATHER OF APRIL. DAYTIME HIGHS WERE NEARLY 8 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL WHILE OVERNIGHT
LOWS WERE ONLY VERY SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL. THE TEMPERATURE DID NOT RISE ABOVE 50
DEGREES UNTIL THE 17TH AND THE HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE MONTH WAS ONLY 59 DEGREES.
THE LAST TRACE OF SNOW FOR THE SEASON FELL ON THE 14TH. TOTAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE
MONTH WAS 5.73 INCHES...OR 68 PERCENT ABOVE NORMAL. THERE WERE ONLY 2 COMPLETELY
DRY DAYS IN MAY...ON THE 17TH AND AGAIN ON THE 24TH.
JUNE WAS MUCH LIKE MAY...COLDER THAN NORMAL AND WETTER THAN NORMAL. IN FACT...THIS
PAST JUNE WAS THE WETTEST JUNE ON RECORD WITH 6.69 INCHES RECORDED AT THE AIRPORT.
THAT IS SLIGHTLY MORE THAN TWICE THE NORMAL JUNE PRECIPITATION. RAINFALL WAS
SPREAD OUT FAIRLY WELL THROUGH THE MONTH WITH ONLY 2 COMPLETELY DRY DAYS ON THE
22ND AND THE 23RD. TEMPERATURES IN JUNE WERE WELL BELOW NORMAL WITH DAYTIME HIGHS
BEING 4.7 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. OVERNIGHT LOWS WERE ALSO BELOW NORMAL BUT ONLY BY
1.1 DEGREES. IN SPITE OF THIS...THE WARMEST DAY OF 2012 OCCURRED ON JUNE 23RD WHEN
THE TEMPERATURE ROSE TO 82 DEGREES AT THE AIRPORT. NUMEROUS OTHER LOCATIONS ACROSS
SOUTHEAST ALASKA SAW TEMPERATURES IN THE MID TO UPPER 80S THAT DAY WITH WFO JUNEAU
RECORDING 86 DEGREES.
JULY ALSO POSTED BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION...BUT
LESS SO THAN JUNE IN BOTH RESPECTS. THERE WERE ONLY 4 DAYS WITH TEMPERATURES
SIGNIFICANTLY ABOVE NORMAL. A RECORD LOW WAS SET ON THE NIGHT OF THE 12TH WHEN THE
TEMPERATURE FELL TO 38 DEGREES. APART FROM THAT NIGHT...OVERNIGHT LOWS WERE
GENERALLY BELOW NORMAL BUT ONLY BY A FEW DEGREES. THE NIGHT OF JULY 3RD THREATENED
RAIN BUT IN THE END REMAINED DRY FOR 4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS AT MIDNIGHT. RECORD RAIN
FELL ON THE 9TH WHEN 1.64 INCHES WAS RECORDED AT THE AIRPORT. ALTHOUGH THE WEATHER
WAS COOL...THERE WAS NEARLY A TWO WEEK PERIOD OF TIME FROM THE 15TH TO THE 27TH
WHEN ONLY ONE TENTH OF AN INCH OF RAIN WAS RECORDED ON TWO SEPARATE DAYS.
AUGUST WAS ALSO COOLER AND WETTER THAN NORMAL BUT A LITTLE LESS SO THAN OTHER
MONTHS IN 2012. THERE WAS A WEEK OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
MONTH WITH PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES AND COOL OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES AND THEN A FEW WARMS
DAYS AT THE END OF THE MONTH. THESE PERIODS OF TIME ALSO COINCIDED WITH DRY WEATHER
FROM THE 13TH THROUGH THE 21ST AND AGAIN FOR THE LAST 3 DAYS OF THE MONTH. APART
FROM THOSE TIMES...THE RAIN WAS FAIRLY CONSISTENT WITH RECORD RAINFALL ON THE 8TH
AND AGAIN ON THE 28TH WHEN 1.21 INCHES AND 1.28 INCHES FELL RESPECTIVELY.
SEPTEMBER WAS...LIKE SO MANY OF THE MONTHS IN 2012...COOLER THAN NORMAL. BUT THIS
MONTH WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN MOST DURING THE YEAR. DAYTIME HIGHS WERE A FULL 2
DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. OVERNIGHT LOWS WERE...ON THE OTHER HAND...A FULL DEGREE
WARMER THAN NORMAL. THIS DIMINISHED DIURNAL SPREAD IN TEMPERATURES IS ALSO A LONG
TERM TREND SEEN IN THE JUNEAU CLIMATE RECORD OVER THE PAST 30 YEARS. IN ITS
SIMPLEST FORM...DAYTIME HIGHS ARE COOLING AND NIGHT TIME LOWS ARE WARMING.
SEPTEMBER PRECIPITATION WAS 28 PERCENT ABOVE NORMAL. WHILE NO RAINFALL RECORDS WERE
SET AT THE AIRPORT...THERE WAS SOME VERY HEAVY RAIN RECORDED IN THE JUNEAU AREA
DURING THE SECOND WEEK OF THE MONTH. ON THE 11TH...2.2 INCHES WAS RECORDED
DOWNTOWN. ON THE 12TH...1.72 INCHES WAS RECORDED AT THE WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE. ON
THE 13TH...1.6 INCHES WAS RECORDED AT THE AIRPORT. THERE WAS VIRTUALLY NO DRY
WEATHER IN SEPTEMBER WITH A TRACE OR BETTER BEING RECORDED ON EVERY DAY EXCEPT ONE.
OCTOBER TEMPERATURES WERE IN KEEPING WITH MUCH OF THE YEAR WITH THE AVERAGE MONTHLY
VALUE BEING 38.5...OR 3.9 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. THE MONTH STARTED OUT WITH NEAR
NORMAL HIGHS AND LOWS...BUT BEFORE THE END OF THE SECOND WEEK TEMPERATURES STARTED
TO FALL AND KEPT FALLING UNTIL THEY WERE BETWEEN 12 AND 17 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL
DURING THE LAST WEEK OF THE MONTH. THE FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON FELL ON THE 16TH
WHEN A TRACE WAS RECORDED. THE FIRST MEASURABLE SNOW FELL ON THE 30TH WHEN 1.4
INCHES WAS RECORDED AND TRICK-OR-TREATERS ENJOYED A SNOWY BUT DRY HALLOWEEN NIGHT.
IN TERMS OF PRECIPITATION...OCTOBER WAS WELL BELOW NORMAL. ONLY 3.5 INCHES...OR
LESS THAN HALF OF THE NORMAL 8.63 INCHES...FELL DURING WHAT IS CLIMATOLOGICALLY ONE
OF THE WETTEST MONTHS OF THE YEAR IN JUNEAU. IN TERMS OF OUTDOOR
ACTIVITIES...OCTOBER WAS REALLY QUITE PLEASANT. JUNEAU RESIDENTS ENJOYED PLENTY OF
SUNSHINE WITH THE BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION FALLING BETWEEN THE 12TH AND THE 18TH.
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER BOTH RECORDED WELL BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND BELOW NORMAL
PRECIPITATION. ALTHOUGH THE EL NINO THAT WAS FORECAST TO OCCUR EARLIER THIS YEAR
HAD FIZZLED...THE PACIFIC DECADAL OSCILLATION HAS REMAINED SOLIDLY NEGATIVE AND HAS
HAD SOME CONTRIBUTION TO THE BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES ALL YEAR LONG. IT IS
THEREFORE NO SURPRISE TO FIND OUT THAT BOTH NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER RECORDED ABOVE
NORMAL SNOWFALL IN SPITE OF BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION. DECEMBER WEATHER WAS
PARTICULARLY NOTEWORTHY...WITH SNOWY WEATHER FOR THE FIRST TWO WEEKS...THEN DRY AND
VERY COLD TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE 26TH. OVERNIGHT LOWS FELL TO 3 DEGREES ABOVE
ZERO ON THE 21ST AND THE 22ND...THE SECOND TIME DURING THE YEAR THAT TEMPERATURES
WERE 22 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL AND THE SECOND COLDEST NIGHTS OF THE YEAR.
FRITSCH
