PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 530 PM AKST SUN DEC 1 2013 ...MONTHLY WEATHER SUMMARY FOR NOVEMBER FOR FAIRBANKS ALASKA... NOVEMBER 2013 IN FAIRBANKS STARTED OFF MILD...BUILT TO WILD CRESCENDO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH WITH SNOW...FREEZING RAIN...RAIN AND ONE OF THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE WIND STORMS IN THE INTERIOR IN RECENT MEMORY...BUT ENDED UP ON A CALM AND COLD NOTE. THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT WAS 15.4 DEGREES ABOVE WHICH WAS 4.5 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 10.9 DEGREES. THE AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT WAS 3.2 DEGREES BELOW WHICH WAS 2.5 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL LOW TEMPERATURE OF 5.7 DEGREES BELOW. THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE WAS 6.1 DEGREES ABOVE WHICH WAS 3.5 DEGREES ABOVE THE NORMAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 2.6 DEGREES. NOVEMBER 2013 RANKS AS THE 43RD WARMEST OF 109 YEARS OF RECORD. NOVEMBER 2013 WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR A DESTRUCTIVE STRONG STORM SYSTEM THAT MOVED ACROSS THE WEST COAST AND INTERIOR THAT BROUGHT FREEZING RAIN DURING THE DAY ON THE 13TH AND DAMAGING WINDS EARLY MORNING ON THE 14TH THAT LEFT NEARLY 14000 PEOPLE WITHOUT POWER ACROSS FAIRBANKS...NENANA...AND NORTH POLE AREA AS WELL AS UPROOTED NUMEROUS TREES. THIS STORM EVENT WAS DECLARED A STATE OF DISASTER BY THE FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR BOROUGH MAYOR ON MONDAY NOVEMBER 18TH WHEN TEMPERATURES DROPPED TO 27F BELOW ZERO ON THE 19TH AND AN ESTIMATED 800 RESIDENTS FROM GOLDEN VALLEY ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION WERE STILL WITHOUT POWER. THIS STORM SYSTEM HAD INITIALLY STARTED OUT AS SNOW BRIEFLY AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT BEFORE SWITCHING OVER TO A MIX OF FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING ON THE 13TH. AS WARMER AIR MOVED ALOFT OVER THE COLD SURFACE...WIDESPREAD FREEZING RAIN WAS REPORTED ACROSS THE GREATER FAIRBANKS AREA ON THE MORNING OF THE 13TH. ALTHOUGH DRIVING CONDITIONS WERE DIFFICULT AND SEVERAL ACCIDENTS WERE REPORTED ON THE MORNING OF THE 13TH...MANY COMMENTED MORE ISSUES WITH THE RAIN FREEZING INSTANTLY ON THE WIND SHIELDS RATHER THAN THE ICY ROADS. SEVERAL DRIVERS HAD TO PULL OFF THE ROAD TO REMOVE THE ICE ON THE WIND SHIELDS DURING THE MORNING COMMUTE. SEVERAL REPORTS OF A QUARTER OF AN INCH TO ONE HALF INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATION. THE WINTRY MIX OF FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW CONTINUED THROUGH THE DAY WITH TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ON THE 13TH OF 3.9 INCHES AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT. SEVERAL REPORTS ACROSS THE AREA RANGED WITH 4 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW WITH THE STORM SYSTEM. AS THE WARM FRONT PUSHED TOWARDS THE GREATER FAIRBANKS AREA DURING THE LATE EVENING OF THE 13TH...SNOW QUICKLY STARTED TO MELT AS THE SOUTHEAST WINDS INCREASED TO SUSTAINED WINDS OF 15 MPH AND GUST OF 26 MPH AT 1000 PM RECORDED AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT. ALONG WITH THE INCREASING WINDS THE TEMPERATURES ALSO INCREASED FROM 22F TO 44F IN TWO HOURS BETWEEN 800 PM AND 1000 PM AKST. REPORTS OF POWER OUTAGES AND BLOWN TRANSMITTERS WERE REPORTED BETWEEN 1100 PM ON THE 13TH THROUGH 1 AM AKST ON THE 14TH. ALTHOUGH THE STRONG SOUTHEAST WINDS STARTED AS EARLY AS 1000 PM AKST ON THE 13TH AND CONTINUED THROUGH 1 PM ON THE 14TH...THE PEAK WIND GUSTS RECORDED AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT WAS 55 MPH AT 1239 PM ON THE 14TH. OTHER AREAS SUCH AS FORT WAINWRIGHT RECORDED A PEAK WIND GUSTS OF 62 MPH AT 1239 AM AND 101 AM ON THE 14TH AND EIELSON AFG RECORDED A PEAK WIND GUST OF 49 MPH AT 137 AM ON THE 14TH. FROM THE COLLECTED DATA FROM 1930 AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT FOR WIND RECORDS... THE 55 MPH WIND GUST IS STRONGEST PEAK WIND GUST FOR THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER AND THE 4TH STRONGEST PEAK WIND GUST AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT WITH THE RECORD PEAK WIND GUST OF 63 MPH SET ON JULY 7TH 1990. AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED...NUMEROUS TREES WERE UPROOTED WITH SEVERAL REPORTS OF CAR...ROOF...AND HOUSE DAMAGE. THERE WAS ALSO REPORT OF A PIPER SUPER CUB AIRPLANE WITH THE WINGS SHREDDED AND DAMAGE ALL OVER THE PLANE. IT TOOK OVER A WEEK FOR GVEA TO RESTORE POWER TO CUSTOMERS AND REPAIR THE DOWNED POWER LINES DUE TO UPROOTED TREE DAMAGE. NOVEMBER ALSO HAD LARGE AND IN SOME CASES RAPID TEMPERATURE SWINGS. THE WARMEST TEMPERATURE AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT OCCURRED ON THE 14TH WHEN THE TEMPERATURE SOARED TO 45 DEGREES AND SET A NEW RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR THE DAY. THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE OCCURRED ONE WEEK LATER ON THE 21ST WHEN THE TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO 33 BELOW. WARM CHINOOK WINDS BLOWING THROUGH THE ALASKA RANGE BROUGHT LARGE AND RAPID TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS ACROSS THE FAIRBANKS AREA. THE TEMPERATURE JUMPED 39 DEGREES FROM 25 BELOW TO 14 ABOVE IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT ON THE 21ST AND 22ND. THE TEMPERATURE JUMPED 53 DEGREES AT EIELSON IN 24 HOURS. BOTH OF THESE TEMPERATURE SWINGS PALE IN COMPARISON TO THE TEMPERATURE CHANGE THAT OCCURRED AT HEALY WHERE THE TEMPERATURE JUMPED FROM 41 BELOW TO 40 ABOVE...AN INCREDIBLE 81 DEGREE SWING...IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS. AS THE WARMING CHINOOK FADED AT HEALY THE TEMPERATURE PLUNGED 32 DEGREES IN 4 HOURS. PRECIPITATION THAT FELL AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT TOTALED 1.74 INCHES WHICH WAS 0.67 INCHES ABOVE NORMAL AND RANKS AS THE 5TH WETTEST OF 99 YEARS OF RECORD. NOVEMBER 2013 WAS ALSO SNOWY WITH 17.6 INCHES OF SNOW FALLING AT THE AIRPORT WHICH IS 4.4 INCHES ABOVE THE NORMAL NOVEMBER SNOW FALL OF 13.2 INCHES. NOVEMBER 2013 RANKS AS THE 15TH SNOWIEST OF 98 YEARS OF RECORD. SNOW ON THE GROUND STARTED WITH ONLY A TRACE ON THE 1ST BUT HAD GROWN TO 12 INCHES OF SNOW ON THE GROUND BY THE 29TH. LOOKING AHEAD TO DECEMBER...THE AVERAGE HIGH TEMPERATURE DROPS FROM 7 ABOVE ON THE 1ST TO 2 ABOVE ON THE 31ST. THE AVERAGE LOW TEMPERATURE DROPS FROM 11 BELOW ON THE 1ST TO 16 BELOW ON THE 31ST. IN THE LAST 108 YEARS...DECEMBER TEMPERATURES HAVE VARIED BY 120 DEGREES IN FAIRBANKS...FROM A HIGH OF 58 ABOVE IN 1934 TO A LOW OF 62 BELOW IN 1961. AVERAGE SNOWFALL IS 12 INCHES BUT HAS BEEN AS MUCH AS 50.7 INCHES IN 1984 TO AS LITTLE AS A TRACE IN 1969. DECEMBER IS THE DARKEST MONTH OF THE YEAR WITH POSSIBLE SUNSHINE DECREASING FROM 4 HOURS AND 35 MINUTES ON THE 1ST TO THE ANNUAL MINIMUM OF 3 HOURS AND 42 MINUTES ON THE WINTER SOLSTICE. BY THE 31ST POSSIBLE SUNSHINE INCREASES TO 3 HOURS AND 59 MINUTES GAINING 17 MINUTES ALONG THE LONG CLIMB BACK TO THE MIDNIGHT SUN ON THE SUMMER SOLSTICE IN JUNE. THE OUTLOOK FOR FAIRBANKS FOR DECEMBER FROM THE CLIMATE PREDICTION ENTER CALLS FOR EQUAL CHANCES OF ABOVE NORMAL...NEAR NORMAL OR BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES. THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER IS ALSO CALLING FOR EQUAL CHANCES FOR ABOVE NORMAL...NEAR NORMAL OR BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION. OBSERVED LAST MONTH...11/2013 OBSERVED RANK AVG MAX TEMP (F) 15.4 37TH WARMEST OF 109 YEARS AVG MIN TEMP (F) -3.2 44TH WARMEST OF 109 YEARS AVG TEMP (F) 6.1 43RD WARMEST OF 109 YEARS TOTAL PRECIP (IN) 1.74 5TH WETTEST OF 99 YEARS TOTAL SNOW (IN) 17.60 15TH SNOWIEST OF 98 YEARS $$ CCC/MAK
Objective Comments and Analysis - All Science, No Politics
Primary Author Richard James
2010-2013 Author Rick Thoman
Monday, December 2, 2013
November Summary
Here's the November weather summary from the National Weather Service in Fairbanks.
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