If you feel like it’s been raining a lot in Anchorage, you’re right. According to the National Weather Service, we’ve matched a record that’s nearly a hundred years old.
Forecaster Dave Snider, with the National Weather Service, said rain is normal this time of year, but no break in the rainfall is unusual.
“Today [Friday] is the 18th consecutive day of measurable rain since August the 27th,” he said. “So that ties the record that was set back in 1919. It’s been a long time since it’s rained this much for this long.”
Measurable rainfall is considered anything more than a trace of precipitation. It’s measured at the forecast office just South of the airport. There has been some minor flooding around the city because of all the rain, but nothing big. Snider said most Anchorage records for rain are set in August and September.
There’s a 20 percent chance of showers Friday night and early Saturday. If it rains enough, Snider said it’s possible we could break the record for consecutive days of rainfall.
The monthly September rain total is nowhere near the record of 7.35 inches, which was set in September 2004. So far we’ve only had 3.79 inches of rain this September. Sunday is supposed to finally be sunny in Anchorage, but more rain is expected next week.
Daysha Eaton is a contributor with the Alaska Public Radio Network.
Daysha Eaton holds a B.A. from Evergreen State College, and a M.A. from the University of Southern California. Daysha got her start in radio at Seattle public radio stations, KPLU and KUOW. Before coming to KBBI, she was the News Director at KYUK in Bethel. She has also worked as the Southcentral Reporter for KSKA in Anchorage.
Daysha's work has appeared on NPR's "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered", PRI's "The World" and "National Native News". She's happy to take assignments, and to get news tips, which are best sent via email.
Daysha became a journalist because she believes in the power of storytelling. Stories connect us and they help us make sense of our world. They shed light on injustice and they comfort us in troubled times. She got into public broadcasting because it seems to fulfill the intention of the 4th Estate and to most effectively apply the freedom of the press granted to us through the Constitution. She feels that public radio has a special way of moving people emotionally through sound, taking them to remote places, introducing them to people they would not otherwise meet and compelling them to think about issues they might ordinarily overlook.
