At a Glance
- Southeast Alaska is located in a temperate rainforest and averages 100+ inches of precipitation per year.
- This region is currently classified in severe drought.
- Precipitation in Ketchikan is near 3 feet below average in 2018.
Severe drought has gripped one of the nation's wettest climates for months even though it has received more than 95 inches of precipitation this year.
Ketchikan, Alaska, has recorded 96.62 inches of precipitation (rain/melted snow) in 2018 through Dec. 10. In many parts of the United States that would be an extreme amount, but in Ketchikan that's 35.94 inches below average.
For comparison, Wilmington, North Carolina, has seen 97.75 inches of rain through Dec. 10 and is 42.60 inches above average for the year to date. That enormous surplus was largely caused by the deluge Hurricane Florence unleashed for days in September.
But Ketchikan is in the southeast Alaskan panhandle, home to one of the wettest climates in the United States.
Pacific storms pummel this temperate rainforest region often leading to an average annual precipitation total of 141 inches.
Even June and July, Ketchikan's driest months, average more than 6 inches of rain. From September through March average precipitation is more than 10 inches per month, led by October with 19.22 inches.
But as of Dec. 9, the city was experiencing its fourth-driest year on record.
Moderate drought first developed in far southeast Alaska during July and then it intensified into a severe drought by late-September, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor report. The latest update from Dec. 4 shows that severe drought has continued since then.
Dominant high pressure in the upper atmosphere blocked moisture-laden storm systems from affecting this region summer into fall, causing the growing precipitation deficits and drought.
Precipitation was just 44 percent of average July through October in Ketchikan. Average precipitation in that time is 49.39 inches, but Ketchikan fell well short of that mark with 22.08 inches.
Southeast Alaska was also classified as abnormally dry or moderate drought in much of the first half of 2018, so the dryness has even longer-term roots.
The drought had major impacts in late-September, according to a drought monitor report.
The Metlakatla Indian Community on Annette Island was at risk of losing power after it had to stop hydroelectric power turbines due to low water levels. In early October, streamflows in the region were at much below to record low levels.
Ketchikan had to switch to supplemental diesel fuel for power instead of cheaper hydroelectric power in late-September. Sufficient rainfall allowed the town to suspend the use of diesel fuel power generation in early November.
KPU Electric, Ketchikan's power company, says its renewable energy supply status is yellow as of Dec. 10, meaning that diesel supplementation may be needed at a later date due to falling reservoir levels.