The National Weather Service expects Juneau will experience the first 50-degree day of the year Tuesday.
According to forecasts, warm air will enter Southeast Alaska from the southwest as the weekend’s rainstorm exits the area to the east. Temperatures are expected to top 50 degrees in Juneau, and if they do, they would bring the thermometer into record territory. According to information from the Weather Service, Tuesday’s record high is 49 degrees, set on March 13, 2016. That mark was recorded at Juneau International Airport, the city’s official measuring point.
The capital city isn’t expected to approach its all-time March record. That’s 61 degrees, set March 21, 1998.
Tuesday’s warm weather will not be limited to Juneau: Weather Service forecasters here expect the thermometer to top 60 degrees in southern Southeast. According to Weather Service records, Alaska hasn’t ever had a temperature above 60 degrees on March 13. (There have been several other March days with temperatures above 60, and the all-time March high for the state is 71 degrees, set in Klawock two years ago.)
The warmer weather will be accompanied by clearing skies, but the sunny break isn’t expected to last long. The departure of the warm weather to the east will allow seasonably cool air to re-enter Southeast from Canada, returning overnight lows to near the freezing point, and daily highs to the low 40s.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at jbrooks@juneauempire.com or call 523-2258.