Warmer than usual Alaskan summer?

[cwb124]

Hey folks, and particularly Ard. I have a trip in 2 weeks above the arctic circle on the Wulik River and we have been watching flows and temps on the USGS website: USGS Current Conditions for USGS 15747000 WULIK R BL TUTAK C NR KIVALINA AK

I'm struggling to wrap my head around the data and its accuracy. According to the USGS website, air temps on the Wulik can fluctuate anywhere from 45 degrees to 70 degrees in a 24 hour period. That doesn't seem right. If I look at weather in Kivalina which is at the bottom of the river on weather.com or wunderground.com, the temp doesn't swing more than 3-4 degrees in a 24 hour period which makes sense due to the long days.

In addition, according to the USGS, the water temps on the Wulik are pushing 60 degrees right now, while mostly hovering in the mid/high 50s. Last year for example around this time the water temps struggled to get out of the 40s. Is the data to be trusted? Is it unusually warm up above the arctic circle this year? Let's say this data is accurate, with the unusually warm air and water temps, how will that affect the chum salmon and resulting dolly varden migration out of the Chukchi sea and up the river? Does warmer water move up the spawn run or delay it? I know it's Alaska and weather can change on a dime but it seems very odd to me. Anyone with any insight, I would appreciate it.

CB

 

[Ard]

I've never been up to the area in question and so wouldn't know if the data seemed normal or not. There are changes occurring here at an accelerated pace so I would expect the same up north. As for how those water conditions will affect chums, as long as the flow is good they should come.

 

[fredaevans]

I've never been up to the area in question and so wouldn't know if the data seemed normal or not. There are changes occurring here at an accelerated pace so I would expect the same up north. As for how those water conditions will affect chums, as long as the flow is good they should come.

I'd bet the data is correct; all these sights are automatic in their reading/reporting. I live just north of Medford, Oregon and from this point on till late fall the high/low for the day can easily be fifty degrees. Today was a low of 46 ,... with a projected high of 99. For some reason we're classified as 'High Desert' here, think it has to do with the low rain fall at under 20 inches/year.

Heavy shirt at 0400 and go 'Hawaiian the rest of the day.

fae

 

[Ard]

As a footnote to this topic; if it's any consolation yesterday afternoon at this same time I was standing in a river fishing. It was sunny and 85* F. today it is 55* F. so there's a 30* variation overnight here in Southcentral. I could imagine the extremes may have wider variations up there.

 

[bushak]

It has definitely been warm at times during the summer. I know many of the salmon runs, across the state, are late this year. We went up the Kwethluk the other weekend. In past years the Silvers have been thick as thieves but we didn't see a single one. We did see plenty of chums. The sea-run dollies were missing though which was extremely puzzling. I'm on the Kuskokwim so a bit different than the Arctic but those are my observations.