Finally hit -50F in Fairbanks

[PA1195]

https://twitter.com/NWSFairbanks

Forecast: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick...7#.WH-_5LGZN8w

Town covered with ice fog looking south towards Hawaii: http://old.co.fairbanks.ak.us/airqua...rrentPhoto.jpg

You can bet my Taylorcraft is hibernating.

Gary

[ifdale]

Re: Finally hit -50F in Fairbanks

Been thinking about you guys up there! A balmy -26f here in Soldotna...not too bad.

[PA1195]

Re: Finally hit -50F in Fairbanks

After a mild winter last year (never got to -30F at home) we're spoiled. It's been warming since the middle 1970's due to heat form the North Pacific (the warm PDO and Blob). Now there's a deep trough of low pressure aloft laying over Alaska that's cold from the ground up several thousand feet so even the hills around town are cold. Normally they're warmer than the valley floor.

The Skew-T temps aloft from this AM's balloon sounding show it only warms to -25C/-13F at about 5000' over our surface temperature inversion.

But I bet it feels lots colder in Soldotna at -26F due to humidity.

Gary

[Robert Lees]

Re: Finally hit -50F in Fairbanks

Some folks I know of in Alaska enjoy the cold:



The one I know has an item of red clothing upon her.

[Robert Lees]

Re: Finally hit -50F in Fairbanks

Another friend lives in Colorado, in a little bowl surrounded by hills, at 6000 AMSL. On 6 January 2017 he saw this:



Admittedly that's not as cold as Fairbanks AK, but it's cold for mid-Continental USA

[PA1195]

Re: Finally hit -50F in Fairbanks

Good pics Robert. Typical for some in cold weather to become infamous. My wife and I drive by that sign daily but the ladies are never around when I am. Behind that sign is a hill and the location of the "Campus" archaeological site. Ancient folks used to traditionally sit up there for thousands of years and presumably spot food to go and catch. But I'm sure when it got real cold they climbed even higher.

There's commercial flights coming and going despite the fog and 1/4 mile vis. And now there's a volcano in the Aleutian Islands blowing rocks ash into the path of international flights to and from Asia: http://aawu.arh.noaa.gov

Gary

[N96337]

Re: Finally hit -50F in Fairbanks

Was talking to a friend up there today and heard that.....and we've gone to 37* and rain. I'd almost rather have the -50....almost! We're supposed to have this crap for a few days so that means the 2' of snow is going to be about 6" of ice.... yuck!
John

[astjp2]

Re: Finally hit -50F in Fairbanks

And they think I am hardcore because I wear shorts most of the year in Utah when the temps get down to 10....above

[NC26528]

Re: Finally hit -50F in Fairbanks

They have U haul trucks available there, right?

[PA1195]

Re: Finally hit -50F in Fairbanks

The local U-Haul is located over the ground where I used to rent a home in the 1970's. So yes I could pack up my cares and woe and head towards the Sun. But by April through September there's no more fun place to be for flying and camping if you like that stuff: http://www.usclimatedata.com/climate...tates/usak0083

Gary