2019 another record warm year for Anchorage and Alaska

2019 will enter the books as the warmest year on record for Anchorage. The average temperature for the year is 42.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The previous “warmest year” was 2016 with an average temperature of 41.9F. In fact, the five warmest years for Anchorage have occurred in the past six years. The records for Anchorage go back to 1954.

Though there are approximately 12 hours left in the last day of the year, Rick Thoman, climate specialist for UAF's Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, says these final hours won’t make an appreciable difference in the annual average temperature.

Anchorage had a record year overall, breaking the all-time record high on July 4 by hitting 90 degrees. The previous record had been 85 degrees set on June 14, 1969.

Statewide, Alaska is on track to see the warmest year on record as well. 2016 was the previous warmest year on record for the state.