Photos: Summer is here early and Alaskans can’t get enough

Anchorage has had cloudless days, temperatures have been in the 70s and people are eager to soak it all in.

For a lot of people, it’s been an easy choice to get outside lately as cloudless days, higher temperatures and ample sunshine sweep through Anchorage. Squash a few of those pesky mosquitoes and some would say you have the perfect combination.

Summer events are kicking off, too, like the Spenard Jazz Fest and Anchorage Summer Arts in the Park, a free series that runs on weekends in June and July and highlights regional and local performers.

As of June 4, there have been nine consecutive days with a high temperature of 70 degrees or more in Anchorage, and other parts of the state, from Fairbanks to Haines, have seen temperatures above 80 degrees.

[Stretch of warm, sunny and dry weather across much of Alaska arrives unusually early this season]

This warm weather arrived unusually early in the season, but people are making the most of it by swimming, hammocking and sunbathing. Moose calves and goslings are getting their bearings and flowers are blooming.

Check out our photos of summer living around Anchorage.

Emily Mesner

Emily Mesner is a multimedia journalist for the Anchorage Daily News. She previously worked for the National Park Service at Denali National Park and Preserve and the Western Arctic National Parklands in Kotzebue, at the Cordova Times and at the Jackson Citizen Patriot in Jackson, Michigan.