Alaska, well known for its long and brutal winters, is now in the grips of a historic heat wave.
As an unusually strong and very warm ridge of high pressure is parked in the upper atmosphere above Alaska, at least five cities broke all-time record highs Monday:
* Talkeetna, 75 miles north of Anchorage, reached 96 degrees. Just a day earlier, it had tied its all-time record high of 91, also set June 14, 1969 and June 26, 1953. The 96-degree high was hotter than any town in the entire state of Florida on Monday.
* McGrath hit 94 degrees, crushing its all-time record of 90 set June 15, 1969 and just tied on Sunday. McGrath is deep in the interior of southwest Alaska, 215 miles northwest of Anchorage.
* Cordova hit 90 degrees, breaking its record of 89 set July 16, 1995. Cordova is on the coast 145 miles east of Anchorage.
Alaska's two largest cities shared the heat, though without breaking records. Fairbanks reached 86, well short of the 99 it saw July 28, 1919. Anchorage's high of 81 fell short of the historical high of 86 on June 25, 1953.
The hot dome of high pressure responsible for this weather will break down later this week. Marine influences will cool coastal towns first; the heat will hold on for several more days in the interior. Click on the names of the cities above for the five-day forecast.
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