An Alaska heat wave may sound like an oxymoron, but that's exactly what has been happening in the state recently as temperatures in Anchorage have reached the 80s and will remain high throughout the weekend.
The jet stream, a river of air high above the earth which determines the weather for the Northern Hemisphere, is causing a rare streak of high temperatures. According to CNN, the jet stream has been erratic in recent years and had caused strange weather occurrences such as snowstorms in May and Superstorm Sandy.
The jet stream typically runs quickly from west to east in a mostly straight direction, but the stream has been weaving lately causing it to undulate north and south and leading to constantly changing and extreme weather conditions.
"I've been doing meteorology for 30 years and the jet stream the last three years has done stuff I've never seen," Jeff Masters, meteorology director at the private service Weather Underground told CNN. "The fact that the jet stream is unusual could be an indicator of something. I'm not saying we know what it is."
The state had an all-time record high on Tuesday in Talkeetna as temperatures reached 96 degrees. The previous record was 91 degrees. The town of McGrath also had high temps at 94 degrees yet just a few weeks ago in May, residents were dealing with 15 degree temperatures.
While residents are not used to the high temperatures, some are finding that it is keeping the mosquitoes away during the day time. Yet the heat has still been a struggle.
"If it wasn't for the fan next to me," she said in an email, "I'd be a gonner," Fairbanks resident Victoria Smith told CNN.
Others are enjoying the rare warm weather. "I'm reveling in the heat and enjoying every minute," Meredith Lanis said.
According to Reuters, some residents have taken to the local lakes and community pools to enjoy the weather.
The high temperatures have also caused serious problems as wildfires have spread rapidly across the state since the trees and plant life is drier than usual. A fire can easily spark when the brush is hit by lightning.
Experts are trying to figure out what is causing the wild jet stream activity.
"It's been just a crazy fall and winter and spring all along, following a very abnormal sea ice condition in the Arctic," Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis told CNN, citing climate change as a factor. "It's possible what we're seeing in this unusual weather is all connected."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
