Alaska climate report: April brought sharp weather swings

Alaska climate report: April brought sharp weather swings

April was a month of meteorological change in Alaska, as expected each year. What stood out this time, however, was the wide range of conditions during those changes.

April featured several storms that brought unsettled weather and strong temperature swings, particularly in the state's northern and interior regions, according to the monthly summary from the Alaska Climate Research Center.

The climate center, a part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, issued its April climate summary earlier this month.

"April is our meteorological transition month in Alaska, but just how that transition is going to look from year to year can sometimes be a surprise," said ACRC Director Martin Stuefer, who is also the Alaska state climatologist. "April 2026 certainly gave us quite a mix of weather."

April began with several small, fast-moving storm systems moving from the Bering Sea into the Gulf of Alaska.

The second week featured unusually warm weather in Western, Interior and Northern Alaska.

A strong low-pressure system that had moved into the Bering Sea then arrived over mainland Alaska, bringing heavy snow, rain and strong winds that spread into Southcentral, Interior and Southeast Alaska, the summary states.

It also brought temperatures down to unseasonably cold levels around mid-month.

Another strong low-pressure system developed over the Bering Sea and became a major storm as it reached Alaska's western coast around April 19 before moving inland. Strong winds, rain and snow spread into Interior Alaska. Heavy rain along the Southcentral coast raised flood concerns in parts of the Susitna Valley, while high winds battered coastal communities.

Other April highlights:

• April precipitation varied sharply across Alaska. Anchorage received more than three times its normal April precipitation. Parts of Western Alaska and the Interior were also wetter than usual. Bethel recorded 249% of its normal April precipitation, while Fairbanks received 176% more than normal. Anchorage's total contrasted with much of the rest of Southcentral Alaska, where conditions were generally drier than average.
• About 12% of the state was considered abnormally dry, though that is a decrease of about 5% from March. Unusually dry conditions persisted on the Seward Peninsula, around Cook Inlet and on most of the Kenai Peninsula. Those regions were unusually dry for much of the winter.
• Interior Alaska received a significant amount of snow during the month, with totals of 12.2 inches and 6.4 inches of new snow in Bettles and Fairbanks, respectively. That is more than twice the normal amount of April snowfall for both stations.
• The summary cautioned about unstable snowpack and deteriorating ice conditions. Several avalanche rescues occurred in Southcentral Alaska, including incidents near Hatcher Pass and Valdez involving skiers and snowmachiners. The report also noted a Coast Guard rescue of subsistence hunters stranded on drifting ice and the death of a child in western Alaska after falling through thinning ice near a village culvert.

ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Martin Stuefer, [email protected]

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