Port Walter

Coordinates: 56°23′30″N 134°39′23″W / 56.39167°N 134.65639°W / 56.39167; -134.65639 Port Walter is located on the southeastern side of Baranof Island in Sitka City and Borough, Alaska. It is made up of two parts: Little Port Walter and Big Port Walter.

Little Port Walter was the home of a herring saltery during the turn on the century and the ruins can still be seen. Little Port Walter had a small community at one time but has been replaced by a research station that studies the life cycles of several species of Salmon. There is a staff of 3–15 state and federal employees running the research station year-round. There is a dock, and the harbor itself is a safe anchorage. [1] [2]

Little Port Walter receives an average annual precipitation of over 225 inches (5.7 m)[3] [4] and as such is the wettest permanent settlement in the United States and among the wettest in the world with lengthy climate records. As many as seventy-eight days per year see over 1 inch (25 mm) of rain and/or snowfall per year,[5] while in October 1974 69.23 inches (1.76 m) of rain fell and in January 1985 61.67 inches (1.57 m). The record daily rainfall was 14.84 inches (376.9 mm) on 6 December 1964. The driest month was February 1989 with 0.63 inches (16.00 mm), while the hottest day on record was 12 August 1990 with 88 °F (31.1 °C) and the coldest 2 January 1966 with 0 °F (−17.8 °C) overnight. The heaviest snowfall in a month was 94.2 inches (2.4 m) in December 2001.

Climate data for Little Port Walter, Alaska
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 54
(12)		 58
(14)		 57
(14)		 67
(19)		 72
(22)		 80
(27)		 79
(26)		 88
(31)		 73
(23)		 61
(16)		 57
(14)		 54
(12)		 88
(31)
Average high °F (°C) 36.4
(2.4)		 38.9
(3.8)		 41.3
(5.2)		 46.6
(8.1)		 52.7
(11.5)		 58.2
(14.6)		 61.6
(16.4)		 61.6
(16.4)		 56.4
(13.6)		 49.2
(9.6)		 42.2
(5.7)		 38.6
(3.7)		 48.6
(9.2)
Average low °F (°C) 28.1
(−2.2)		 29.9
(−1.2)		 31.0
(−0.6)		 34.1
(1.2)		 39.0
(3.9)		 44.5
(6.9)		 48.7
(9.3)		 49.0
(9.4)		 45.4
(7.4)		 39.7
(4.3)		 33.9
(1.1)		 30.5
(−0.8)		 37.8
(3.2)
Record low °F (°C) 0
(−18)		 3
(−16)		 5
(−15)		 18
(−8)		 24
(−4)		 32
(0)		 37
(3)		 39
(4)		 31
(−1)		 23
(−5)		 4
(−16)		 4
(−16)		 0
(−18)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 21.88
(555.8)		 19.21
(487.9)		 17.10
(434.3)		 14.54
(369.3)		 12.16
(308.9)		 8.25
(209.6)		 8.01
(203.5)		 14.08
(357.6)		 23.52
(597.4)		 33.34
(846.8)		 27.79
(705.9)		 26.57
(674.9)		 226.45
(5,751.9)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 32.0
(81.3)		 25.5
(64.8)		 17.1
(43.4)		 3.7
(9.4)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.4
(1)		 9.8
(24.9)		 24.2
(61.5)		 112.7
(286.3)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 inch) 21 19 21 17 17 14 14 16 20 25 24 24 232
Source: [6]

References

  1. ↑ "Little Port Walter Facility". United States of America, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
  2. ↑ "Little Port Walter Field Station". United States of America, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
  3. ↑ "Climate at Little Port Walter". Alaska Climate Research Center, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
  4. ↑ "SouthEast Alaska Frequently Asked Questions, Precipitation at Little Port Walter". United States Department of Agriculture, United States Forest Service.
  5. ↑ General Precipitation Tables for Little Port Walter
  6. ↑ "Little Port Walter, Alaska (505519)". Western Regional Climate Center.
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