By Yereth Rose

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – An unusual winter warm spell in Alaska has brought daytime temperatures soaring past 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5°C) and torrents of rain at a time of year normally associated with bitter cold and fluffy snow.

At the island community of Kodiak, the air temperature at a tidal gauge hit 67 F (19.4°C) degrees on Sunday, the highest December reading ever recorded in Alaska, said scientist Rick Thoman of the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy.

It was called “absurd” by him.

Thoman stated that the new record high was achieved amid balmy December conditions, which included 65° at Kodiak’s airport and a record cold 62° at Cold Bay on Alaska. There were also at least 8 December days with temperatures over 50 in Unalaska (Aleutian town).

Thoman explained that interior Alaska was likely to have the worst immediate consequences for people due to the huge amounts of precipitation. The Fairbanks region in Alaska was hit hard by the fiercest storm-type mid-winter weather since 1937.

Because of the inability to retain moisture, interior Alaska’s December month is usually dry. Thoman lives in Fairbanks and said any moisture that comes in, tends to flow into “the fluffy powder because it is colder.”

However, this has not been the case for several days.

It fell so much that it landed on the roof of Delta Junction’s sole grocery store, which is 95 miles (153km) south of Fairbanks.

Worse, heavy snows were quickly followed by torrents and rains that iced the communities. It caused power outages across the region and closed major roads, offices and schools.

Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities warns that the cement-like, ice coated roads that have formed will make them treacherous over time.

It is difficult to remove ice once it has bound to road surfaces. Even though the air temperature was high during #icemageddon2021, the roads were sub-zero, which made it more difficult to remove the ice from the road surface.” The department stated on Twitter (NYSE :

Thoman explained that Alaska’s recent years have seen more extreme heat and cold weather than ever before. It is likely this has been due to climate change. Thoman said that this is what one would expect to see in a warmer world.

It is the same story elsewhere in northern Canada, where the harsh winters are making it difficult for both people and livestock. These hardships will only get worse.

Last month’s Nature Communications study showed that the Arctic would have more snow than winter rainfall by 2060 and 2070.

Alaska will still have its winter cold – Fairbanks temperatures were forecast to plunge below minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-29 C) this weekend – but warm, soggy episodes are expected to be more numerous in the future, Thoman said.

He said, “A warming and moistening planet has made this more probable.”