As wildfires burned around the region, forecasters Wednesday predicted that record-breaking heat along with dry conditions will persist in Southcentral Alaska for the rest of the month.
"In our neck of the woods it's going to be significantly warmer than normal," National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Kutz said. "As far as precipitation goes, it is going to be dryer than normal."
Average temperatures for Southcentral Alaska in June are in the mid-60s, Kutz said, but this week, many parts of the region reached the 70s and 80s.
Anchorage reached a new record Tuesday, with temperatures reaching 82 degrees. The previous record was set at 79 degrees in 2013.
Kutz added that the region could see more dry thunderstorms, as well.
"It is not going to help us with these fires," Kutz said.
In a public forecast Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service called for a slight chance of thunderstorms in the Talkeetna Mountains Wednesday afternoon, while temperatures in the area reached the high 80s.
Temperatures on the Kenai Peninsula could reach the upper 70s.
Much of Southcentral, Western, and Interior Alaska remain under red flag warnings for dangerous fire weather conditions.
Parts of the state not under red flag warnings also saw record high temperatures. In Kodiak, the high temperature reached 80 degrees Tuesday, topping a record of 78 set in 1939, while in Sitka the temperature climbed to 77 degrees, topping the previous record of 71, set in 1950.