Daily temperatures in Haines were above average in July, but August is shaping up to be more ordinary.
According to measurements by the National Weather Service at the Haines airport, the average temperature in July was 60.5 degrees, surpassing the 58-degree norm.
July 4 was the hottest day of the month and the hottest on record in almost seven decades, tying the 1951 record high of 84 degrees. Two days of the month surpassed 80 degrees, and 13 more days saw maximum temperatures higher than 71 degrees.
Only 0.32 inches of rain fell in July, which NOAA meteorologist Wes Adkins said was about 20 percent of the 1.55-inch normal. The Haines Volunteer Fire Department issued several burn bans, restricting all open fires, burn barrels, campfires or wood or charcoal barbecues due to high heat and little precipitation.
“July was definitely above normal temperatures, and precipitation was well below normal,” Adkins said.
Adkins said the first 12 days of August were more typical for the month, averaging a high of 64 degrees, which is normal. “But the perception that we are cooler and chiller and fall has arrived earlier is wrong,” he said. It feels cooler in comparison to an abnormally hot July. “It’s more like a regular end of summer.”
Adkins said August precipitation is already well above normal. “It seems to be wetter than it typically is,” he said. For the rest of the month, Adkins said there is still a chance for above normal temperatures due to a southerly flow of warm air coming to the region, although that hasn’t panned out so far.
“For the fall season ahead, September through November, we’re looking for better than average chances of above average temperatures which would imply later onset of snow,” Adkins said. “Overall it’s going to be a wetter and warmer fall.”