Kodiak’s winter was unusually warm, wet and cloudy. The meteorological winter, which finished before the typical spring equinox on March 21 this year, was considered over by the end of February.
From December through February, 36.5 inches of rain fell in Kodiak.
“That is the third highest, December, January, February total on record in Kodiak’s long 100-plus-year climate record," climate specialist Rick Thoman said.
The top wettest winters in Kodiak were in 1985-1986 and 1976-1977 according to Thoman.
Similarly, this winter in Kodiak was also the third warmest in recorded history. Thoman, who’s with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, said the same weather pattern that persisted in the Gulf of Alaska during those three months produced mild temperatures with an average of 35.9 degrees.
Additionally, Thoman said this winter was the third cloudiest since 1979. That’s based on the number of hours each day with any measurable cloud cover over Kodiak Island.
This is all part of a wetter, warmer trend Alaska has been experiencing as a whole in recent years; mainly brought on by climate change which is exacerbated by humans’ increased greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial revolution.
Warmer temperatures and more rain meant a lack of snow in Kodiak, which was true for most Southcentral communities this winter. Only 2.5 inches fell at the local wastewater treatment plant, the lowest in its 20 years of observations.
Coming out of winter, the beginning of April has been unusually hot on the island. A few days ago, Kodiak set a record high temperature for April 1 of 64 degrees at the Benny Benson State Airport. Thoman said he almost thought it was a joke or a malfunction of the equipment. But, no, it was really that warm, eclipsing the record set on April 1, 1954 of 53 degrees.
“That is the highest temperature this early in the year in Kodiak, in all of Kodiak’s climate history, going back before World War 1," Thoman said. "That 64 degrees is also the highest temperature in the spring by almost three weeks. We have to go to the second half of April until we find the next time it’s been 64 degrees or higher at Kodiak."
Thoman said temperatures aren’t expected to reach the 60s again in Kodiak until at least late April.
For this weekend, April 4-6, more storms from the Gulf of Alaska dropped temperatures to the 40s and brought more rain.
