SXAK79 PAFG 230543
RERAFG
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
843 PM AKST SAT DEC 22 2012
...RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES IN TOK
THE LOW TEMPERATURE AT TOK AS REPORTED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE COOPERATIVE OBSERVER ON SATURDAY WAS 57 BELOW. THIS TIES
THE RECORD LOW FOR DECEMBER 22 PREVIOUSLY SET IN 1961.
THE HIGH TEMPERATURE SATURDAY IN TOK WAS 48 BELOW. THIS IS THE
LOWEST MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF RECORD FOR DECEMBER 22 IN
TOK...BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 45 BELOW SET IN 1957.
WEATHER OBSERVATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE IN TOK...THOUGH WITH GAPS IN
THE RECORD...SINCE 1954.
RT DEC 12
Objective Comments and Analysis - All Science, No Politics
Primary Author Richard James
2010-2013 Author Rick Thoman
Elevation and river valley = cold. Lived and worked there in 1974. Flew all over that country. Snowed in June and August.
ReplyDeleteGreat area, good people. Lots of outdoor recreation. Maybe the Tanana Jet will warm them up soon.
Gary
I like the Tok area very much, having done language work in Tanacross. No Tanana Vallley jet though. It usually starts west of Cathedral Rapids. The east side of Tok (like east of Eddies) does get some east wind at times.
ReplyDeleteGood note Rick. Tanacross and and maybe Tok did get blown around some from the south this last year with substantial tree and dwelling damage. The Tok and Robertson Rivers tend to bring in southerly breezes.
ReplyDeleteI spent lots of time in that area doing fisheries studies. Truly remains one of the last parts of Alaska that's relatively untouched and still wilderness. Inbound tourists drive by heading for their Alaska. Little do they know they just passed some of the best.
Gary
For lack of a better place, I'll throw this in here: http://www.o3d.org/npgo/enso.html
ReplyDeleteClink on his links for more info.
This fellow claims to have the NPGO and other stuff related to our temps somewhat figured out. The videos are real interesting. Still crawling through the material and references.
Merry Christmas,
Gary
Hm...I hope the upcoming heat wave won't be long enough spoil this awesome, possibly record-breaking December. Alaska has pretty weak and pathetic winters for its latitude, despite being so close to Siberia. I mean, look at Mohe, China, they have never recorded a high above freezing from December to February; and at 52 degrees latitude, their averages are colder than Umiat, or even Denali for that matter. It's a shame that Alaska can't maintain a consistently cold winter without warm months breaking in between. It's ridiculous how the weather flip flop between extreme cold in one month and extreme warm in the next. I'm not saying that I'd rather have Yakutsk's weather, it's just weird how weather behaves in Alaska.
ReplyDeleteThis will be a cold one, but no record. I'll post on this shortly.
DeleteAlaska is basically a peninsula. I've long thought that it's impressive it gets a cold as it does given the proximity of open ocean. That is a function of both mountain barriers and high latitude.
Also, except for the far western Interior, it is quite rare for cold Siberian air to be moved bodily into the region (especially in winter). By far the most common way it gets cold is local development: it does not come from anywhere. Next most common is probably to bring it in from the northeast or east, from either the high Arctic or NW Canada.
Between high latitude and the mountain barriers (but especially the northern Rockies), the prevailing jet level flow is usually way south and rarely westerly.
Rick
So move to Yakutsk, Verkhoyansk, or Tomtor if Fairbanks doesn't suit your lifestyle, and level the flip flops.
ReplyDeleteHostile weather in Alaska is expensive and limits our outdoor activities. And it gets expensive.
Do you live here?
Gary
This graph of heating degree days mirrors the increased expense for some of living in Interior Alaska:
ReplyDeletehttp://climate.gi.alaska.edu/Climate/Fairbanks/Fairbanks_HeatingDegreeDays.png
When that red line rises above the norm, so does the expense of fuel (home and vehicle) and electricity. Living off the grid and land requires more fuel as well.
Gary
I'll have do to a post on this one day, as base 65F heating degrees are not, in my opinion, a good measure of heating needs in Fairbanks (at least). Not many people are heating at all when in July the high is 74F and the low of 54F. A better measure is either base 50F or 55F.
DeleteWill look for your analysis. Seems like some northern Europeans have a lower reference base. If it gets below about 60F in our home my wife briefly turns on the Toyo heat, regardless of the season. Keeps the stove free from condensation I suppose.
ReplyDeleteGary