A warm, wet autumn so far has helped Southeast Alaska claw its way back from a long rain deficit that’s plagued the region, scientists said.<\/p>\n
“The entire Southeast Alaskan drought is a long time in the making,” said Brad Rippey, a climate meteorologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a telephone interview. “In the last month or two we’ve seen a dramatic increase in precipitation.”<\/p>\n
The copious rainfall has put this year ahead of average by 13 inches so far, said Bryan Farrell, a systems engineer- mechanical for Alaska Electric Light & Power. However, the Juneau region experienced a rainfall deficit of over 30 inches over the last few years, and it might take more than one good autumn to fix that, Farrell said.<\/p>\n
[Single-vehicle crash leaves young woman and teenager dead, 2 young men seriously injured]<\/a><\/p>\n
“It’s really going to be a function of precipitation and temperature,” Farrell said.<\/p>\n
If it stays warm enough that most of the precipitation comes as rain and goes to the reservoirs, it could go a long way toward making up for the deficit, Farrell said. But if it falls as snow and accumulates above the frost line, it won’t add to the lakes.<\/p>\n
\nGood news for those following #SEAKdrought<\/a>! Conditions have improved over the vast majority of the area though the long term precipitation deficit remains. #akwx<\/a> @KTOOpubmedia<\/a> @KRBDRadio<\/a> @KFSK1<\/a> @KSTKradio<\/a> @KHNS_FM<\/a> @ravenradio<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/38xRXqsOC2<\/a><\/p>\n
— NWS Juneau (@NWSJuneau) November 21, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n