Anchorage sees rainiest day this year while hot and dry weather continues across the Interior

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Fire danger remains high across much of the state after a very dry and warm start to the summer, but much of the southern areas of the state got much-needed rain Thursday.

Anchorage ended up with 0.15 inches of rain Thursday, making this the rainest day in 2022. To find more precipitation in a single day in Anchorage, you have to go back to March, when it was snow falling and not rain. This was also the coolest day seen in Anchorage since May 23.

The rain is already coming to an end for Anchorage and the Matanuska Susitna-Borough where just isolated light showers are possible Friday and Saturday, but further south the rain is just getting started.

Heavier rain is likely for the eastern side of the Kenai Peninsula, including Seward Friday and Saturday. Showers will also continue for the western side of the Kenai Peninsula, Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska Friday and Saturday. A second storm will bring more rain to Southcentral Alaska Monday.

Further north into the Interior, warm and dry weather conditions continue with high temperatures returning to the upper 70s and low 80s with no rain in sight, other than what is coming in from isolated thunderstorms.

The evacuation areas around the clear fire were expanded Thursday to include both sides of the Parks Highway between mileposts 273 and 280. New areas were also told to get ready to leave at a moment’s notice. The fire is now up to more than 61,000 acres and is just 8% contained.

Most of the Interior and Copper River Basin is still under a Red Flag Warning for critical fire danger and a Dense Smoke Advisory continues for the Interior where smoke is dropping the visibility to less than a mile at times, and dropping the air quality to dangerous levels.

Stay with Alaska’s Weather Source for the latest on wildfire conditions across the state and the most current weather forecast.

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