This is the usual monthly climate summary for Alaska. I covered wildfire in Alaska through July here. July sea ice from the pan-arctic perspective is here and the Arctic-wide climate summary is here.

Temperatures for July were below normal almost everywhere in Alaska (Fig. 1). Some place were only slightly below normal, others more substantially below normal. McGrath had the coolest July since 1981, Fairbanks coolest since 2001, Anchorage coolest since 2008. More widely, in both southwest (Bethel, King Salmon, Cold Bay and St. Paul) and Southeast Alaska (Juneau, Sitka and Yakutat) all had the coolest July since 2012. However, in northwest Alaska, Utqiaġvik, Kotzebue and Nome all had a cooler July than this year since 2020.

The widespread cool weather was reflected in temperature records set (not tied). Most notably, Cold Bay’s low temperature of 32F on July 6th was a new monthly low temperature, breaking the previous July record of 33F (+0.6C) set in 1982 (climate observations since 1942). At St. Paul Island, the low of 31F (-0.6C) on July 5th was a daily record and was the first occurrence of a subfreezing temperature in July since 2012. Seven other daily record lows were set at four different locations. In contrast, only one new daily record high was set: Homer airport with 73F on July 24.

The highest reliable temperature in July was 85F (29.4C) at Circle Hot Springs (northeast Interior) on the 20th, the lowest 27F at Toolik Lake 5 ENE Climate Reference Network station (Brooks Range) on the 26th and 27th and at Utqiaġvik on the 30th. Subfreezing temperatures were reported from some normally colder spots in the Interior. Circle Hot Springs (northeast Interior) had a low of 28F (-2.2C) on the 29th, the first time with July temperatures in the 20s in July since 2015.

Rainfall, as usual, was extremely variable around the state (Fig. 2). Southcentral was exceptionally wet, with many areas receiving two to three times normal rain. This was especially pronounced follow a dry June (summary here). At Anchorage Airport, 4.49 inches (114mm) tied with 2001 for highest July precipitation on record (observations since 1952). Talkeetna’s 10.59 inches (269mm) was the highest July precipitation since the cold and rainy July of 1922.

The middle of July was especially wet in Southcentral. Anchorage had measurable rain (0.01 inches/0.3mm or more) on 12 straight days, the longest such streak in the summer since 1981. Talkeetna reported more than 0.10 inches (2.5mm) of rain on 12 consecutive days, the second longest such streak of record.

Susitna Valley flooding

The rain in the lower Sustina Valley was capped off by two storms between July 20 to 23. The Amber Lake cooperative station, southwest of Talkeetna, reported a two-day rainfall total of 3.43 inches and the Talkeetna Airport reported 2.91 inches (73.9mm) rain in the 24 hours ending at 10am AKDT July 23. The USGS river gauge on the Talkeetna River above town crested just above flood stage at the highest crest since September 2012. Very near the confluence of Susitna and Talkeetna Rivers, at the Alaska Railroad bridge (Fig 3), the crest was the third highest since 2012, just below August 2025’s peak. All the rain caused a landslide north of Talkeetna that resulted in cancellation of the Alaska Railroad service between Denali Nation Park and Talkeetna until debris was removed.

Rainfall elsewhere

The same weather pattern that soaked Southcentral left much of Southeast Alaska with below normal totals. Southwest Alaska had above well normal totals. Total precipitation relative to normal was much more variable across western Alaska and the Interior. Combined with below normal totals in June, the low precipitation in the greater Fairbanks area was a factor in keeping the Tatlanika wildfire going on the Tanana Flats east of the Parks Highway.

Snowfall

Most areas on the North Slope had one or two rounds of snow flurries and even a brief accumulation. In the Brooks Range there were more substantial accumulations at moderate elevations (Fig 4), with 4.9 inches measured at the UAF Toolik Lake Field Station (2500 feet, 750 m MSL) for the month, most of that falling July 26-27th.

Sea surface temperatures in July were near to a bit below normal across nearly all of the Gulf of Alaska. The southeast Bering Sea was also cooler than normal, but elsewhere Bering Sea SSTs near to above normal. Sea surface temperatures in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas were dominated by the extensive (for the 21st century) sea ice, though Kotzebue Sound had above normal SSTs.

Sea ice around Alaska was extensive in July. The month started off similar to July 2025, but by the end of the month, with little open water north of 70°N, ice extent looked more like the 1990s than the third decade of 21st century (Fig. 6) In the Chukchi Sea, ice extent at the end of July was higher than any year since 2000. Additionally, the ice extent decrease during July 2026 was the lowest since 2003. In the Beaufort Sea, sea ice extent at end of July was the highest since 2003, though only a little bit higher than 2006 and last year. Also, as has happen several times in recent years, sea ice cleared the Bering Strait in June, only to have scraps of ice move south from the northeast Chukotka coast and into the western Bering Strait during mid-summer. The ice remained close to the Russia coast and did not drift into the Alaska side of the Strait.

Overall, the Chukchi Sea July 2026 average daily sea ice extent was the highest of any July since 1994 (Fig. 7) in National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) analysis. After years with very low ice extent in the 2010s, the 2020s (so far) have seen a bit of a recovery of mid-summer sea ice extent northwest of Alaska.