why does't alaska have thunder and Lightning storms??

Answer 1

Alaska DOES have thunder/lighting storms, but primarily in Interior Alaska, such as around Fairbanks.

For a thunderstorm, you need heat (>70F, >80 better yet) and moisture. Hence the southeast US with lots of heat and moisture, gets lots of afternoon thunderstorms.

Most Alaskan cities (Anchorage, Juneau, Kodiak, Homer, Seward, Valdez, Ketchikan, etc) are coastal and our sea water is very cold so we rarely get over 70F and almost never get over 80F. Hence we get a few thunderstorms (I've seen lighting from my house), but rarely.

But Fairbanks, 250 miles from any ocean, gets to 90F in those 22-hour long summer days and occasionally a bit hotter.

Most of the numerous and large forest fires each summer in Interior Alaska (and neighboring Yukon and Northern BC) are started from lighting. I've never come up the Alaskan Highway in summer without seeing numerous lighting-sparked forest fires along the way.

Answer 2

I'm sure at some point they have... But the reason they rarley even get tstrorms is because tstorms are formed between the clash of cold and warm fronts. Areas that are very prone to that are in the south and midwest. Because they get cold air plummeting out of Canada which meets up with tropical moist air from the gulf of mexico.

Alaska is pretty much blocked from most types of tropical and humid air masses...

Answer 3

Hot air colliding with cold air makes thunder. I don't think Alaska has a whole lot of hot air.

Answer 4

We do see lightening and hear thunder occasionally in Alaska. Not very often and it is rare when we do, but it happens. Sorry, I don't know why.

Answer 5

Because USC didn't play a game there in the 2005-6 season

Answer 6

did'nt know that it did'nt have thunder and lighting storms? I want to know myself