Climate Watch

Alaska Climate Specialist Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, UAF October in Nome climate-wise was fairly close to the long-term normal in most respects, which these days is a bit unusual. The average temperature of 29.8°F for the month was only half a degree below the 1991-2020 normal, but still ranks as the coolest October since 2014.

Total precipitation at the airport —rain plus melted snow— totaled 1.71 inches, which is 93 percent of normal. Even the average wind speed was very close to normal at 9.3 mph.

Snowfall though was a bit low, at just over three inches as measured in town, compared to an airport average of 4.7 inches. During the month temperatures ranged from 44°F on the Oct. 5 and 6 to 6°F above on the Oct. 30.

As usual for this time of year, inland valleys saw consistently lower nighttime and morning temperatures. The graphic compares the daily temperatures at Nome airport and the unofficial but reliable Dexter observations. The bars show the range between the highest and lowest daily temperatures at each location. Overall, there is little difference in daily high temperatures. However, the low temperatures are consistently lower in Dexter. This is due to cold air pooling in river valleys when winds are light and skies are mostly clear.

During mid-winter we find the same tendency for river valleys to be colder, but this happens both day and night, as the sun does not provide enough heating to erode the cold air out of valleys. Of course, clouds, precipitation and wind all serve to “smooth out” temperatures during the cold season. In summer, inland temperatures are of course often considerably higher due to increased distance from the cooling effects of the ocean waters.