Independence Day was unusually warm for Alaska this year.
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures in Anchorage reached 90 degrees on Thursday, marking an all-time high for the city. The previous record was set in June 196 with a recorded temperature of 85 degrees.
And it wasn't just Anchorage. A number of towns across Southern Alaska experienced record-breaking heat on the Fourth of July. NWS pointed unprecedented high temperatures in Homer, Gulkana, Kenai, Kin Salmon, and more.
As noted by CNN, June was the 16th consecutive month in which temperatures in the Last Frontier surpassed the "normal" range. Experts also say the state will continue to set record highs within the upcoming week due to a "warm atmospheric setup."
"A massively large and warm airmass from the surface to over 15,000 feet intensified right over southern Alaska,"Â Anchorage-based climatologist Brian Brettschneider told USA Today. "This warm air aloft kept the surface air that was heated by the sun at the ground level."
The Alaskan heat wave has prompted officials to cancel various Fourth of July events, including a fireworks show in Anchorage. Several areas have also banned campfires and bonfires to prevent another forest blaze.Â
"These kind of extreme weather events become much more likely in a warming world," climatologist Rick Thoman told NBC News. "Climate change is not causing it, but it is contributing to it. When other pieces line up like high pressure over the state and very warm sea surface temperatures, all the pieces fit together and make these extreme, or even unprecedented, events that much more likely."
Though Thursday marked the first time Anchorage ever experienced 90-degree weather, other towns in the state have surpassed this level, according to NWS data. Fairbanks reached 99 degrees in 1919; McGrath hit 94 degrees in 2013; and Bettles reached 93 degrees in 1986.
