The weather service issued a special bulletin for beautiful weather in Southcentral Alaska

A sign it's been a gloomy summer in Southcentral Alaska: The National Weather Service just sent out a special bulletin announcing that the weather is going to be great this weekend.

"WARM AND SUNNY WEATHER COMING TO SOUTHCENTRAL FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY," the Anchorage branch of the agency thundered in a special weather statement issued overnight Thursday.

Temperatures are forecast to rise into the lower 80s up toward Talkeetna and the mid-70s in the Anchorage area, the agency said. That's 10 to 15 degrees above normal for early August.

A Thursday morning email from the Anchorage Office of Emergency Management described the bulletin from the weather service as a "warm weather advisory" for the Anchorage area.

"Please take appropriate precautions for your children and pets, and have a fun-filled weekend!"

Andy Price, emergency programs manager for education and outreach with the city, said he used the term "advisory" as a "heads-up" rather than a warning.

David Kochevar, a meteorologist with the weather service in Anchorage, said the service did not actually issue a formal advisory, which would indicate hazardous conditions. He said higher temperatures aren't out of the ordinary, unlike the scorching heat seen in Seattle and Portland this week.

But it's been a wet summer in Alaska, with the Southcentral region seeing about a half-inch more rain than usual.

"We were just trying to highlight a bit of a pattern change we saw earlier this week," Kochevar said. "Just some nicer weather — if anything, an opportunity to get out, to get projects done."