Yup, it's hot: Tuesday hit a record 80 degrees

Weather experts are calling it "summer."

The National Weather Service's official high temperature in Anchorage Tuesday, measured in Sand Lake, was 80 degrees, breaking the 79-degree record for the date that was set in 2005, forecaster Matt Taraldsen said.

Elsewhere in the city, temperatures crept even higher, though the marks were recorded at sites considered unofficial by the weather service. The Upper Hillside hit 82 degrees, and East Anchorage logged 83 degrees. The Campbell Creek Science Center hit 86.

Last summer, only two days broached the 70-degree mark at the weather service's Sand Lake station, setting a record for the fewest such days. On average, Anchorage sees 16 days that hit 70 or higher.

The sunny skies and warm weather this year are the result of a high-pressure system that has been lingering over Southcentral and extending up to Fairbanks, which officially hit 84 degrees Tuesday.

"Seasonal weather patterns will vary," Taraldsen said. "This year we've been fortunate. We've had progressively high pressure that's been set up so it's been warmer, but last year we had more lows that came through so it was cooler and wetter."

But the warm temperatures and dry conditions have created prime fuel for wildfires and they've been breaking out with regularity, state Division of Forestry spokesman Matt Weaver said. So far, things are off at a moderate pace, though the weather could change that, he said.

"It certainly seems to be heating up," Weaver said. "We've got some Type I crews coming up from the Lower 48, which is not unheard of, but it's sort of an indication of the high level of fire activity that we've got going on right now."

Fire danger was high in many areas and burn permits have been suspended on the Kenai and in the Mat-Su as a result, Weaver said.

The forestry division was reporting 64 active fires across the state Tuesday, seven of which were staffed with firefighters. So far this year, 354 fires have burned through more than 511,000 acres, according to the division.

The wildfires in turn have been billowing up smoke across Southcentral and the Interior, and the high pressure system that helped fuel the fires is also helping hold the haze created by the smoke in place, he said.

The haze has been widespread and reported across Southcentral and the Interior, Weaver said. Wildfires burning in the Interior have been blowing smoke south and it's gotten trapped in the lower part of the atmosphere by the ridge of high pressure.

The haze, which hasn't posed a danger to health or aviation, was expected to linger in Southcentral and the Interior until at least today, when the pressure system was expected to begin shifting, Taraldsen said. That could allow for a sea breeze to develop in Anchorage, bringing cooler temperatures and blowing out some of the haze.

It will probably be the end of the week before there will be "appreciable changes" in the conditions, he said.

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.

The previous record for July 7 was 79 degrees in 2005.

Temperatures recorded around Anchorage Tuesday include:

Sand Lake: 80 degrees (official high temperature in town)

Campbell Creek Science Center: 86 degrees

East Anchorage: 83 degrees

Upper Hillside: 82 degrees

Smokin' hot