November Summary

Here's the November weather summary from the National Weather Service in Fairbanks.

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

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CCC/MAK