6.2.4 Kodiak Airport
tering effect of the Kenai Peninsula and its mountain-
The Kodiak weather station is located on the north-
ous barrier to moist-air inflow from the Gulf.
eastern end of Kodiak Island, which lies in the west-
Autumn arrives in early October, when air tempera-
ern region of the Gulf of Alaska, near the mouth of
tures begin falling below the freezing mark and snow
Cook Inlet. It is 230 km southwest of Homer and 410
falls with increased regularity. On average, only one
km from Anchorage. The Shelikof Strait, approxi-
day in September experiences a below-freezing tem-
mately 45 km wide, separates it from the mainland.
perature. In November the mean daily low tempera-
The island is one of several that compose a rugged
ture falls below freezing for the month. Monthly mean
complex of mountainous terrain approximately 230
and maximum wind speeds increase each month,
km long and 80 km wide. It has numerous ponds, lakes,
achieving their highest levels in November [5.7 and
and interconnecting waterways and a deeply indented
12.9 m/s (11 and 25 knots), respectively, with gust
shoreline with many deep, narrow bays. The
winds excluded]. The mean monthly minimum wind
mountaintops range from 600 to 1,500 m with abrupt
speed at Kodiak averages about 2 m/s (4 knots) the
changes in elevation. The weather station is located
entire year, which is twice the speed as at the other
on the U.S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak, near the mouth
Cook Inlet stations. Precipitation amounts increase in
of Womens Bay, an inlet extending westward from
the fall, similar to the other Cook Inlet stations. Pre-
Chiniak Bay (NCDC 2000c).
cipitation during September and October amounts to
The climate is characteristically maritime, in which
21% of the annual total. Interestingly all stations ex-
air temperature is primarily influenced by the tempera-
hibit a significant drop in total precipitation for the
ture of the surrounding ocean waters. Seasonal and
month of November, followed by another increase in
daily temperature swings are diminished. The mean
December.
air temperature closely follows the sea surface tem-
The mean monthly maximum temperatures remain
perature, rising slightly above it during the warmest
above freezing throughout the entire winter, while
minimum temperatures average only 23C below
month, August, but falling below it again in Septem-
ber. Summer high temperatures average around 16C,
freezing. The lowest recorded temperature during the
and lows are near 10C during July and August (Fig.
1973 to 1997 POR was 26C, which occurred in Janu-
26). The highest temperature recorded there from 1973
ary. Wind speeds remain near the fall levels through-
to 1997 was 28C. Winds at Kodiak are relatively
out the winter. The maximum sustained wind speed
strong throughout the year but diminish somewhat dur-
for the POR, 72 knots, occurred in February. The ex-
ing the summer months (Fig. 26). Monthly mean and
treme maximum wind gust recorded at the Kodiak sta-
monthly maximum winds during June through August
tion was 99 knots in January 1950. Gusts of over 50
are 79 and 1416 knots, respectively. The highest
knots have occurred during every month but are most
sustained wind speed during June through August for
likely to occur during the winter. About eight storms
the POR was 58 knots. Calm winds are rare but are
per year are accompanied by gusts in excess of 55
most common in July, when they account for less than
knots (NOS 1994). Despite the dip in precipitation
5% of all observations (Fig. 26). As is true for the other
amount that occurs in November, 51% of the station's
Cook Inlet stations, the prevailing wind direction is
annual total falls during the SeptemberJanuary pe-
highly dependent on the season. During late spring
riod. The mean number of days having measurable
and summer, there is a strong eastern component. More
precipitation in Kodiak is nearly 60% higher than in
than 50% of all May-through-July wind observations
Anchorage, and most of Kodiak's precipitation is in
are out of the northeastsoutheast quadrant (see
the form of rain. Kodiak receives more than 3.6 times
wind roses in Appendix E). In August the winds
Anchorage's amount of precipitation, but its mean
begin to shift more to the west and north-
annual snowfall of 162 cm is only about 3% more than
west, where they remain for most of the rest
that of Anchorage (Fig. 26). The range in snowfall
of the year. July has the least precipitation. However,
amount from year to year is highly variable in Kodiak,
monthly precipitation amounts vary widely through-
with an extreme maximum in 1956 of 452.4 cm and
out the year in Kodiak. Figure 26 shows three peak
an extreme minimum of 40.4 cm in 1945 (NOS 1994).
precipitation periods (January, MayJune, and Sep-
Springtime is accompanied by decreasing wind
temberOctober). The monthly range in near-normal
speeds and precipitation. The prevailing wind transi-
precipitation is large compared to the other Cook
tions to easterly in May, where it remains throughout
Inlet stations. Figure 27 shows the monthly precipita-
the summer. Precipitation amounts decrease steadily
tion amounts for the four stations. The lesser amounts
during February, March, and April before temporarily
for Anchorage, Kenai, and Homer testify to the shel-
increasing in May.
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