Haines holds the record for the hottest temperature ever reported to the National Weather Service in Southeast Alaska. On July 31, 1976, a gauge in town clocked a scorching 98 degrees.
Friday was the first day of the region’s first-ever heat advisory, but downtown was breezy, with temperatures in the high 60s to low-70s for most of the day.
Construction workers near Klukwan and up the Haines Highway — the areas targeted by the heat advisory — said they were warm but not overwhelmingly.
So, why the heat advisory?
National Weather Service meteorologist Grant Smith said this year’s change happened because the agency wasn’t using any locally defined measurements to issue those advisories in the past.
“It would have defaulted to a standard for the lower 48,” he said.
Because Alaska meteorologists were using scales set for the lower 48, which was too high, the state never reached the temperatures required to issue a heat advisory.
“It’s the first time we’ve issued a heat advisory, because this is the first time we’ve been allowed,” he said.
Alaska-specific standards were issued this year and went into effect in early June. Those standards include any part of Southeast Alaska reaching 80 degrees or higher for any length of time.
Essentially anything that’s “unusual for our population to experience,” according to a media advisory.
Portions of Klukwan and the upper valley are forecasted to reach 80-degree temperatures, so the advisory remains in effect until 7 p.m. Saturday.
“When you get above 80 degrees, that’s when things start to happen,” Smith said. “Just a normal car sitting in a parking lot at 75-80 degrees, the inside can hit over 100 degrees in 15 minutes.”
Smith also noted that a lot of the housing in Alaska is built to hold heat in. Many people do not have air conditioning. So, while the thermometer may not be reading 100 degrees, it’s still important to keep in mind that it’s hotter than many are used to tolerating.
The weather service recommends that people drink plenty of water; check on their elderly neighbors and relatives; avoid leaving children and pets unattended in vehicles; and limit strenuous activities to early morning and evening hours.
Smith said swimming can be a cooler activity but the water around the Chilkat Valley is still cold. “Water temperatures are in the 40s,” he said.
In downtown Haines, residents largely corroborated that it has been significantly hotter in the Chilkat Valley.
IGA manager Joshua Lloyd said when temperatures climb, generally he notices a trend in what people are buying.
“Everybody’s looking for fans, swimming pools, squirt guns,” he said.
As of Friday afternoon, Lloyd hasn’t seen people purchasing bags of ice or fans or any of the other hot weather-related items.
Just outside of the grocery store, Haines Borough facilities director Brad Jensen stood in the sun drying off behind his truck. He said he’d just returned from a fishing trip — and an accidental cold dip — in the Chilkoot River.
Jensen said he hasn’t heard any reports of the heat causing problems for any of the city’s current projects.
In other rare weather events, isolated thunderstorms and lightning have been reported throughout the Yukon territory. There’s a slight chance of thunderstorms early in the evening on Friday.
Despite the unusual weather combination, race organizers for the annual Kluane Chilkat International Bike Relay say they are excited for Saturday’s annual Haines Junction to Haines ride.
Just under 1,000 cyclists are signed up to compete in the annual race. Reached by phone in Haines Junction, bike relay board member Rob Welton said he’d just seen a bolt of lighting in the distance and heard thunder the night before.
He’s cycling the first three legs of the race with a team. “We’ll get through this,” he said. But, when asked about the heat, he said he didn’t think it would be an issue.
“People just have to have plenty of water to stay hydrated, that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “Put on sunscreen because a lot of folks who live down south are not used to dealing with that much sun.”
Welton said he got out onto the road in Haines Junction on Friday and cycled in the warm upper 70-degree weather.
“It was warmer than I’m used to, but it felt good after two months of clouds and rain,” he said. “Even 80 degrees doesn’t strike me as excessive.”
Correction: This post has been updated to correct the spelling of Kevan Duer’s name.