temperature · United States
Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska
Annual mean temperature
Modelled demonstration series · not observed data
Switch the baseline on this tile and watch what happens. Against the 1951–1980 normal this year is wildly abnormal; against 1991–2020 it is barely remarkable. Both statements are true, and that gap is the entire argument of this instrument. The Arctic did not get a warm year — it got a different climate, and then kept it.
75 years, modelled
Same reading, two normals
| Normal | Mean | σ | Pct | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951–1980 | -12.5 °C | +4.50σ | >99.999th | 1 in 290,000 years |
| 1991–2020 | -11.0 °C | +2.71σ | 99.66th | 1 in 300 years |
Today would be the highest value in the entire 75-year modelled series. Past the series' standing high of -8.8 °C (2014). Nothing about the reading changes between rows — only the yardstick.
The season here
The annual mean here is dominated by how long sea ice sits offshore — open water in autumn keeps the whole year warmer.
Where this series comes from
MODELLED SERIES — not observed. Parameters set from published Utqiaġvik annual-mean climatology and the documented rate of Arctic amplification (roughly three to four times the global rate). The 75 annual values are synthesised by the seeded generator.
Every number on this page comes from a modelled series: 75 annual values synthesised by a seeded generator from published climatological parameters for Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska. It shows how anomaly reasoning works. It is not a measurement and must not be cited as one.
How to read σ
σ counts standard deviations from this place's own normal. The sigma guide · return periods.
More temperature stations
Open Utqiaġvik (Barrow) on the field →