Chilkat Valley News - Serving Haines and Klukwan, Alaska since 1966

As summer comes to a close and fall approaches, Haines residents should brace for the beginning of the rainy season. In the months of September to November, Haines gets an average of 23.5 inches of rainfall. NWS Meteorologist Grant Smith said that for the upcoming months, “the precipitation has no lean of being drier or wetter. We should expect near normal precipitation levels.”

However, Haines can expect above average temperatures for fall. “The first frost might be delayed,” said Smith. At the beginning of the season, Haines averages lows of 47 degrees and highs up to 60 degrees. As fall starts to transition into winter, that temperature range drops down to lows of 23 degrees and highs of 32 degrees. This fall, residents can expect to see temperatures a few degrees higher.

The higher temperatures are a continuation of the warmer-than-normal summer Haines just experienced. Globally, July and August were the hottest months scientists have ever recorded with modern equipment. While Haines did not break any records, high temperatures got into the 70s and 80s about two dozen times over the course of the summer.

The average summer temperatures for Haines ranges between 50 and 65 degrees. This summer, the low temperatures reported were on average 5 degrees above the mean.

The warmer temperatures were partially caused by a drier season with less precipitation than normal. A summer in Haines usually averages 7.8 inches of rain, but this year the average precipitation was 2 inches short of the norm.

A weak atmospheric river is passing through the region this week, bringing precipitation. Smith said that by Thursday clouds will thicken with winds forecast up to 20 miles per hour. Heavy rain is expected Friday into the weekend.

The actual amount of rain is only expected to be 1 to 1.5 inches for a 24 hour period, which is not a lot for Southeast Alaska standards, said Smith.