October was unusually dry with slightly above normal temperatures in the Kenai Fjords area. There was no measurable precipitation at the Seward airport for two-thirds of the month (20 days) leaving the total monthly precipitation far below normal. Combined with the below-normal precipitation that characterized most of the spring and summer, Seward was at a cumulative 13.2 inch deficit for annual precipitation by the end of the month. Daily high temperatures ranged from 35 to 56 degrees F. On October 13th, a high of 54 degrees F tied the daily record high for the date set in 1969. Nighttime lows varied from 24 to 42 degrees F. October 1st marked the first frost of the season as recorded at the Seward airport.
As recorded at the Seward airport, the monthly average temperature for October was 40.3 degrees F; 0.7 degrees F above the 30-year normal. The total precipitation was 2.9 inches (31% of normal), 6.45 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 (November-December-January) favors above-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation for the Kenai Fjords area.
* The EPA has released the third edition of a Climate Change Indicators Report, highlighting observed long-term trends related to the causes and effects of climate change and the significance and consequences of these trends.
* A new Australian study published in Nature Climate Change reveals that marine species may not be able to adapt fast enough to increased CO2levels in the ocean.
* NOAA reports that 2014 had the sixth smallest Arctic sea ice extent on record (beginning in 1979).
* Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks find that loss of Arctic sea ice has resulted in a 7 degree C increase in temperature in Barrow, Alaska in the last 34 years.
* Scientific American reports that in 2015-16 the U.S. will lead the international Arctic Council’s effort to come up with a plan to deal with changes in the Arctic.
* For the first time in history, a cargo ship without an ice cutter escort sailed through the Northwest Passage (from north-eastern Canada to Alaska) in September 2014.
* The online journal Nature reports that mysterious holes that appeared in Siberia in summer 2014 formed from the build-up and release of methane gas from thawing permafrost.
* 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
