El Nino and its impact on fire weather conditions in Alaska

Examining the relationship of El Nino to weather patterns in Alaska shows w ide climate variances that depend on the teleconnection between the tropics and the northern latitudes. However, the weather patterns exhibited in Ala ska during and just after moderate to strong El Nino episodes are generally consistent: above normal temperature and precipitation along the Alaskan c oast, and above normal temperature and below normal precipitation in the in terior, especially through the winter. The warm, dry conditions in the Alas kan interior increase summer wildfire potential. Statistics on the area bur ned since 1940 show that 15 out of 17 of the biggest fire years occurred du ring a moderate to strong El Nino episode. These 15 years account for nearl y 63% of the total area burned over the last 58 years. Evidence points to i ncreased dry thunderstorms and associated lightning activity during an El N ino episode; the percentage of total area burned by lightning caused fires during five episodes increased from a normal of less than 40% to a high of about 96%.