Alaska: The coldest US state of Alaska has recorded its hottest-ever December day. Temperatures soared to a record 19.4C (67F) on the island of Kodiak on Sunday – almost seven degrees warmer than the state’s previous high.
But elsewhere in Alaska temperatures have been plunging to record lows.
In the south-eastern town of Ketchikan, temperatures dropped to -18C (-0.4F) on 25 December – one of the town’s coldest Christmas Days in the past century.
The weather extremes have prompted warnings of an “Icemageddon” from authorities, as torrents of rain and snow have left ice as hard as cement coating the roads.
