Heavy roof snow loads

There has been a lot of snow this winter in many parts of Alaska. Here are some maps of snow depth from the Alaska River Forecast Center. Keep in mind many are from remote automated stations, some at high elevation. Fairbanks and other parts of the interior were hit hard over the Christmas holiday with […]

Fog, freezing fog, and ice fog (oh my!)

If you think fog is a simple thing then this post may complicate things, but hopefully in an interesting way. If you get confused by the various terms used in media and on websites and phone apps for various types of fog, [fog, mist, freezing fog, ice fog, etc], then maybe I can “clear” things […]

Alaska weather on a wild roller coaster

We’ve been on this roller coaster before, but recent heat in southern Southeast Alaska took us to new heights. Sunday, January 14th saw many records broken around SE including a new record high for any January temperature in any place in Alaska with reliable records. The new record of 66 F (18.7 C) was set […]

temperature graph

Heatwaves, Southeast Alaska style

We’ve had some warm days lately in northern Southeast Alaska, and if perception is worth anything, it always feels warmer just coming off winter. Actually much of Alaska feels this surge of warmth in May (and sometimes in April), but it is a time of the year when southeast can keep up with the interior […]

Why does the snow sparkle so?

Lately around here we’ve been blessed with decent snow cover. A nice change from the last two winters. Nice fresh show that stays fresh thanks to lack of warm surges. To add to the beautiful scene, the snow has had lots of sparkles of light reflecting off the surface from the bright moon or nearby lights (there’s plenty of time to see this with days still solstice short).

Alaska weather on a roller coaster

Back into the freezer The strong “January thaw” that pushed well into the interior and tied the all time January record for Alaska is being pushed toward the back of our memories by seasonal and colder weather. Boy, it feels colder after a long warm spell! Wind chills here in northern Southeast Alaska are bouncing […]

Two kinds of cold in Alaska

Dry cold, wet cold?   no. Winter cold and summer cold?  no. Bitterly cold vs extremely cold?  no. Calm vs windy cold? close. All these would make good blog subjects, but what I’m thinking about today is domestic cold vs imported cold. Seriously. I have a good recent example.

The (literally freezing) cold Alaskan summer continues

The cold, cloudy, wet weather has been with Alaskans since May, with a only a few short breaks here and there. Here’s a recent example from the usually warmish Copper River Basin: A rainy day Wednesday in Glennallen (wx data from close-by Gulkana–that’s where the airport and weather station are for the Glennallen area) with […]

Cold Spring in Alaska

If you have been waiting to see some statistics on how our winter of 2011-2012 rated compared to climate history, or if you were hoping for a long range forecast (educated guess) for the summer of 2012, stay tuned, I am working on both. I’ve been preoccupied with getting the 2013 Alaska Weather Calendar printed […]