In the high glare of a summer evening in Fairbanks, Alaska, Ciara Santiago watched the mercury climb. A meteorologist at the National Weather Service office, she had the dubious honor of issuing the state’s first ever official heat advisory as temperatures were expected to hit the mid-80s.

When you think of Alaska, you rarely think of heat. But currently, parts of Alaska are under the state’s first official heat advisory. Here’s why it is technically new, but not necessarily unique in what’s considered the nation’s coldest state.

While the temperatures in the forecast wouldn’t be considered extreme in other U.S. states, most Alaska buildings don’t have air conditioning.