Who thought tundra would really burn?See: Note, the 2000 statement that thunderstorms and lightning were extremely rare on the north coast of Alaska, let alone having thunderstorms over Arctic Ocean sea ice! The Alaska Interagency Coordination Center did have a lightning detection network at the time, but without North Slope sensors. The other two events were on Jand July 22, 1989. This is only the third time a thunderstorm has occurred in Barrow since 1978. Thunderstorms and lightning are extremely rare on the north coast of Alaska. According to calls received, Barrow had one of the most exciting events they had ever seen since it was the first for most residents. Many calls were received at the weather office from people who have just witnessed their first thunderstorm and lightning display. A rare event- a thunderstorm moved through the Barrow area on the 20th and dropped 0.16 inches of rain in just a couple minutes. Thundershowers moved through Barrow, AK on the Arctic coast on the 20th. July 8, 1921, Thunder was heard at Barrow, Alaska for the first time in many years. The following observations of thunder or thunderstorms come from those reports. The NOAA Center for Environmental Information hosts the Alaska Climatological reports from 1915 to 2015. Here's what I found, and what came at the end made my jaw drop in regard to lightning strikes and thunderstorms over the Arctic Sea Ice - and the massive changes in the last 16 years of increasing thunderstorm activity over the Arctic Ocean. There was not a thunderstorm reported in the media, although on Jthere was a cloud to ground strike 15 miles from Barrow.Ĭurious, I decided to research the background of Arctic Coast or Arctic Ocean thunderstorms, starting with Barrow and Wainwright, Alaska. On July 8 the National Weather Service published special weather statements regarding the potential for thunderstorms in Barrow, Alaska and on the North Slope.
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