How hot was it in Southeast Alaska this week?
Warm temperatures in Southeast Alaska earlier this week were actually part of the stifling heat wave that has oppressively gripped the Pacific Northwest. Aaron Jacobs with the National Weather Service in Juneau says they call it a blocking pattern because it was blocking other incoming weather systems that could bring cooler temperatures and precipitation. We have a big high pressure sitting over a certain area and then all the different other disturbances are kind of getting lifted up and around it or kind of stable patterns which cant really move, he said. All this warm air is building up and building up, and that warm air has moved this way up into Southeast Alaska and British Columbia.  On Sunday, Juneau hit 80 degrees for the first time this year. On Monday, it was 83 degrees. Other communities set new records for the day like Ketchikan at 82 degrees and Sitka at 75 degrees. The forecast for the rest of the week calls for more clouds, cooler temperatures and even a little rain for Southeast Alaska.