Break-up on the Yukon River at Dawson, YT occurred on on the afternoon of April 28. This was the fourth earliest break-up since 1896: only 1940, 2016 and 2019 were earlier. Typical break-up nowdays is more than a week earlier than it was in the early to mid 20th century. #ytwx#Canada#YukonRiver#hydrology#Climate@Climatologist49@evaholland
April 1 snowpack snow water equivalent as a percent of 1991-2020 median in/around Alaska from ERA5 Land courtesy of ECMWF/Copernicus. Most of Alaska snowpack is near to above normal with a small exception in the central Interior and a larger exception in central and southern Southeast. In Canada, much of northern BC, NW Alberta and western NWT snowpack is far below typical for this point in the season. #akwx#ytwx#ntwx#Arctic#SnowPack#Hydrology#Wildfire @Climatologist49@DeniseGutzmer
Low temperatures on Friday (through about 630pm AKST) in the Alaska-Yukon borderlands. Temperatures in the -50s (F) (lower than -45.6C) confined to the Yukon Territory, though some of the deep valleys on the Alaska side of the Fortymile county came close. Cold spots include -57F (-49.4C) at Watson Lake climate and -55F (-48.1C) at Pelly Ranch #akwx#ytwx#Winter2024 @Climatologist49
Heres' the change in the lowest winter temperature (ºF) over the past 50-years in and around Alaska from ERA5 courtesy of ECMWF/Copernicus. Largest changes on the North Slope, northern Yukon Territory & northern NWT mainland and parts of southern Southeast. Big change in the southeast Bering Sea is likely tied to decreased winter sea ice. Small area in Northwest Arctic Borough and inland Seward Peninsula with little to no change. #akwx#ytwx#ClimateChange @Climatologist49
How cloudy was it this summer around Alaska? From our friends at the World Climate Service using ERA5 reanalysis, #Summer2023 sunshine compared to the previous 60 years. Southeast Alaska and NW Canada well above average sunshine 🌞. For a large portion of Kodiak Island, the Kenai Peninsula and the eastern Bering Sea region, this was either the lowest or second lowest sunshine summer since 1963. ☁︎ #akwx#ytwx#ntwx @Climatologist49
Northern North America (Alaska, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories) #wildfire has exceeded 2 million hectares burned for the second consecutive summer. Thus far this year, 89 percent of that total has burned in the NWT, 6 percent in the Yukon and 5 percent in Alaska. Last year, 59 percent of the area burned was in Alaska. #akwx#ytwx#ntwx#Climate#Summer2023 @Climatologist49@weatherwest@ai6yr
Northwest North America wildfire updated as of August 9th. For Northwest Territories this is now the fourth largest season since 1980 in terms of area burned. Alaska and Yukon area burned is not large by historic standards but #wildfires have really ramped up since late July. #akwx#ytwx#bcwx#ntwx#Summer2023 @Climatologist49@chrys
End of July update on northwest North America #wildfire. Yukon Territory area burned is below average and Alaska is second lowest past 30 years. in contrast, NWT wildfire area is the highest since 2014. Graphic courtesy of Fire Information for Resource Management System US/Canada (FIRMS). #akwx#ytwx#ntwx@evaholland@McYukon@Climatologist49
Whoa! Northwest Territories #wildfire has now burned more 400k hectares (998l acres). Burning that much boreal forest produces a lot of smoke, some of which is now as far west as Interior Alaska. #akwx#ytwx#ntwx#ClimateMonitoring#Climate
Spring temperature trends around the #Arctic over the last half century from ERA5 courtesy courtesy of ECMWF/Copernicus. Increases in excess of 5C in parts of Russia and northwest Alaska, and unlike autumn, most of the largest changes are over land. Only areas north of 60ºN with any appreciable cooling are parts of Canada west of Hudson Bay and a small area in eastern Alaska. #akwx#ytwx#ClimateChange#ClimateDiary