Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for Alaska and Northwestern Canada - March 2017

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for Alaska and Northwestern Canada for December 2016 – February 2017; outlook for April – June 2017.  Dated March 2017. 

Several areas saw above normal precipitation during winter 2016-17 including the northern half of Alaska, the majority of the Yukon and the northern region of the Northwest Territories. Areas further south including south-central Alaska experienced a drier than normal winter. Alaska’s North Slope, northeastern British Columbia and the whole Mackenzie Delta experienced significantly higher than normal temperatures this winter. These milder than normal conditions are because of a persistent southerly circulation of air along the eastern side of the Rockies throughout most of the winter. Temperatures over the majority of Alaska and the Yukon were close to normal except for the area between King Salmon and Gulkana, AK, which experienced colder than normal conditions.

NOAA’s Regional Climate Services Program and partners created these Climate Outlooks to inform the public about recent climate impacts within their respective regions. Each regional report contains easy-to-understand language, and anyone can access them through the Drought Portal at https://www.drought.gov/drought/resources/reports.