July 2014 proved to be another warmer-than-normal and drier-than-normal-month in the Kenai Fjords area. Daily high temperatures ranged from 60 degrees F to 76 degrees F with a total of five days above 70 degrees F. Measurable precipitation was recorded on 12 days with more than half the total rainfall occurring on one day, July 9th. Winds were relatively calm with average daily wind speeds remaining below 9 mph every day except July 20thwhen daily winds averaged 11.4 mph.
As recorded at the Seward airport,the monthly average temperature for July was 57.2 degrees F;1.2 degrees above the 30-year normal. Thetotal precipitation was 1.82 inches (65% of normal), 0.98 inches below the 30-year normal (1981-2010) for the month.
Also of note:
* The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center's three month weather outlook (August-September-October) favors above-normal temperatures and normal precipitation for the Kenai Fjords area.
* A new report published in PlosOne explores climate change impacts and rates of environmental change in US national parks.
* The journal Nature Geoscience published a new study that looks at how industrial dust and soil are accelerating glacial melt and contributing to rising sea levels.
* New research published in the journal Polar Biology looks at potential long-term adverse effects on the breeding success of migrant birds in the Arctic as a consequence of earlier spring snow melt resulting from climate change.
* Scientists at the University of Hawaii Honolulu are working to understand how mesoscale eddies (giant whirlpools) in the ocean drive the global climate.
* Researchers at the University of Vermont propose that increased quantities of feces from growing whale populations may be providing a new source for carbon storage.
* Researchers at the University of Montana study how climate change related.
* NOAA climate services portal serves as a single point-of-entry for NOAA's extensive climate information, data, products, services, and the climate science magazine ClimateWatch.
Read more to find out about the local climate for
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
