Alaska News

Anchorage makes Weather Channel's top 5 worst summer weather in 2012

Some people living in Anchorage may have suspected it early on this summer. Others may have clued in when news hit that Alaska's largest metropolis had faced the fourth-rainiest July on record. But as summer advanced into autumn, and storm after storm battered the city, it became clear: This summer's weather was really, really terrible.

For everyone in Anchorage who grumbled through the summer months, a bit of redemption comes, even as rain continues to pour on yellowing leaves: The Weather Channel has deemed Anchorage's summer weather as one of the worst in the nation for 2012.

Citing frigid temperatures, an early frost "even by Alaska standards" on Sept. 9, and of course, a wind storm that cut out power to thousands during the first week of September, the Weather Channel places Anchorage first on its list of the top-five cities with the worst summer weather.

This summer was particularly temperamental for most locales in the U.S. The Weather Channel notes that with such "a wide range of unique weather events," picking the top-five worst-weather locales got a little subjective. Many cities across the nation faced sweltering summer heat, and a crippling drought swept through the midwest, decimating crops. Meanwhile, Anchorage faced cold, wet conditions, and crops withered in the rain; Anchorage is the only location chosen by the Weather Channel for being too chilly this summer.

Other contenders for the summer's worst weather include Colorado Springs, Colo., due to extreme heat, drought and fires, and Washington D.C., that faced a July registering as the second hottest month on record for the nation's capitol, and a week without power during triple-digit temperatures.

Check out the entire list, here.

Laurel Andrews

Laurel Andrews was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in October 2018.

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