Alaska climate report: February marked by cold and dynamic weather

February provided a full Alaska winter weather experience: coastal blizzards, strong temperature swings, heavy snowfall and more deep cold in many locations.

The Alaska Climate Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute published its February summary earlier this month.

“February brought such a wide range of Alaska winter weather that nearly all Alaskans were exposed to some part of it,” said ACRC Director Martin Stuefer, who is also the Alaska state climatologist. “It was certainly one of the most active months we’ve seen in a while.”

In early February, a strong storm system and an elongated low pressure area from the Bering Sea to the Gulf of Alaska combined to bring unsettled weather to parts of Alaska. At the same time, a ridge of high pressure built northward over British Columbia and the Alaska Panhandle, setting up a pattern that steered warmer air from the south into much of mainland Alaska.

As a result, temperatures climbed above average across much of mainland Alaska early in the month, although the Arctic Coast remained cold. Western and Southcentral Alaska saw especially wet and stormy conditions as the warmer air combined with ongoing weather systems in the region.

A series of storms near the end of the first week began affecting southern Alaska coastal areas. Multiple winter weather advisories and storm warnings were issued for Southeast Alaska and along the Bering Sea coast. 

During the second and third week of February, the pattern changed and pushed multiple storm systems north over Interior Alaska and the North Slope. This brought increased precipitation, higher winds and temperature swings.

The National Weather Service issued several warnings for extreme cold, including one for the North Slope due to wind chills around 70 degrees Fahrenheit below zero, and a blizzard warning along the Arctic coast. 

With this pattern shift, cold Arctic air moved in from the north to persist for most of the remaining month. 

The cold was interrupted by a few frontal systems that caused impressive snowfall in the Interior. In Fairbanks, repeated storms broke precipitation records. 

The month was the wettest and second-snowiest February on record at the Fairbanks International Airport weather station. It recorded 2.5 inches of precipitation (the water content in the snow) and 38.7 inches of total snowfall.

February was also colder than normal in many locations toward the end of the month, with records being set for colder daily high and low temperatures.

Anchorage recorded daily high temperatures of 5 degrees above zero on Feb. 27-28, breaking the coldest high temperature records of 9 degrees in 1954 and 7 degrees in 1956 for those dates.

Fairbanks also set records for the lowest high temperatures for those same days with both having a daily high temperature of 19 degrees below zero, breaking the 1932 marks of 18 below and 16 below.

Other February highlights:

• Precipitation, which includes the water content of snow, was significantly higher than normal at several locations. Nome was 296% of normal; Bethel, 240%; and McGrath, 208%.

• The western Gulf of Alaska coast and Southcentral Alaska were relatively dry. Homer and Yakutat recorded 60% and 67% of normal precipitation, respectively.

• About 19% of the state was abnormally dry. That is an increase of about 5% over the January summary. The dry conditions will be worth monitoring as the state approaches wildfire season.