Anchorage experiences wettest August in 25 years
A total of 5.65 inches of rain has fallen through the month, good for third most in city history
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - August has been a never-ending deluge of rain, with 85% of the month seeing precipitation. With well over 5 inches of rain falling since the start of the month, this August has already sealed itself inside the top five wettest.
With the area having already officially seen 5.65 inches of rain as of Monday, Anchorage easily took the rank as the third wettest August on record.
It’s the wettest since 1997, with August 1989 taking the first spot. That year’s August was not only a wet month — as just under 10 inches fell — but also saw four separate days with over 2 inches of rain recorded.
With widespread rain and cloud conditions for much of the month, August is on pace to end the month below average in temperature, a sharp contrast from the hot and dry June that kickstarted our summer. While we saw less than 0.10 inches of rain through the month of June, followed by a severe drought for Southcentral, the summer had other plans. Since the rains started on July 12, we’ve seen little dry time since then. Looking outside, you can see just how wet and cool we’ve been across the region by the amount of mushrooms that continue to sprout up through Southcentral.
We’ll see rainshowers spreading north through the day, with waves of rain staying with us through the middle of the week. While inland areas are expected to see an additional 0.25 to 0.50 inches of rain, coastal regions could easily see an additional 2 to 4 inches of rain through Wednesday. It’s been a wet month, so it’s always important to make sure that you watch area waterways. The recent rains and excessive runoff could lead to some creeks, streams and rivers approaching bankful.
August looks to remain wet, cool and cloudy for the foreseeable future. While some dry time and potentially even some sun breaks look possible this week, expect another stretch of weather where we remained locked in place with daily rain showers.
Have a wonderful week!
Correction: This article has been corrected to reflect that 5.65 inches of rain fell, not 5.85.
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