Looking back at the 2016-2017 winter, it's remarkable to note that Barrow failed to reach -40° for the 5th consecutive winter; the lowest temperature observed all winter was -36°F, which is exactly the same as the last two winters. The two winters before that only saw -39° and -38°. The persistent absence of deep cold is quite remarkable. In terms of daily maximum temperatures, not a single calendar day remained at or below -20°F in the past winter, and it's the first time that has happened in the modern history of daily observations from Barrow.
On another note, here's an interesting chart showing the date of the first spring day with a temperature of 40°F or higher in Barrow. The absence of variability in the 1950s and 1960s is rather striking, and the two outlying early occurences in 1931 and 1936 really stand out. There seems to be no particular reason to doubt that it really did get that warm in late April in those years; it was very warm in Kotzebue too. The scanned observer forms are below (click to enlarge; note "rain" on April 23, 1931).
