When its almost 100 degrees in Alaska you know things are getting fucked up.
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Alaska, well known for its long and brutal winters, has dealt with a historic heat wave this week.
As an unusually strong and very warm ridge of high pressure is parked in the upper atmosphere above Alaska, at least five cities broke all-time record highs Monday:
* Talkeetna, 75 miles north of Anchorage, reached 96 degrees. Just a day earlier, it had tied its all-time record high of 91, also set June 14, 1969 and June 26, 1953. The 96-degree high was hotter than any town in the entire state of Florida on Monday.
* McGrath hit 94 degrees, crushing its all-time record of 90 set June 15, 1969 and just tied on Sunday. A daily record high of 91 degrees for June 18 was set on Tuesday. McGrath is deep in the interior of southwest Alaska, 215 miles northwest of Anchorage.
* Cordova hit 90 degrees, breaking its record of 89 set July 16, 1995. Cordova is on the coast 145 miles east of Anchorage.
* Valdez touched 90 degrees as well, erasing its record of 87 set June 25-26, 1953. Valdez is on an arm of Prince William Sound, 120 miles east of Anchorage.
* Seward hit 88 degrees, eclipsing its all-time high of 87 set July 4, 1999. Seward is on the coast of the Kenai Peninsula, 80 miles south of Anchorage.
On Wednesday, Nome, on the state's west coast, tied its all-time record high of 86 degrees (also set on July 8, 1968 and July 31, 1977).
http://www.weather.com/safety/heat/b...-heat-20130618
