...2013 FAIRBANKS WEATHER REVIEW... 2013 WAS A HIGHLY VARIABLE YEAR WITH LARGE SWINGS IN TEMPERATURE AND MOISTURE. FOR EXAMPLE JANUARY STARTED OFF WITH THE TEMPERATURE REACHING 37 DEGREES ABOVE ON THE 14TH BUT FALLING TO A BONE CHILLING 48 BELOW ON THE 27TH WHICH WAS THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT IN 2013. FEBRUARY WAS THE ONLY MONTH FROM JANUARY TO JUNE THAT ENDED UP AVERAGE OR WARMER. MARCH BROUGHT A RETURN TO MUCH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE NORMAL SNOWFALL. APRIL WAS EXCEPTIONALLY COLD AND SNOWY AND RANKED AS THE 3RD COLDEST APRIL OF 108 YEAR ON RECORD. APRIL WAS ALSO THE 8TH SNOWIEST WITH THE SNOW PACK REACHING 25 INCHES ON THE NINTH. MAY WAS AN EXCEPTIONAL MONTH THAT TRANSITIONED FROM ONE OF THE COLDEST AND SNOWIEST SPRINGS IN RECENT MEMORY. IN FACT THE PERIOD FROM THE 3RD OF APRIL TO THE 7TH OF MAY WAS THE COLDEST 5 WEEK PERIOD FOR THAT PERIOD IN THE RECORDED IN HISTORY. THE SNOWPACK ON THE 1ST OF MAY MEASURED IN AT A HEALTHY 17 INCHES AND REMAINED THROUGH THE 12TH. WINTER WAS NOT QUITE DONE WITH FAIRBANKS AS NEARLY ONE HALF INCH SNOW WAS MEASURED AGAIN ON THE 17TH AND 18TH. MAY ENDED UP BEING OVER 5 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL DESPITE THE TEMPERATURES SHOOTING INTO THE THE UPPER 70S AND MID 80S DURING THE LAST WEEK WITH A DAILY RECORD OF 84 DEGREES SET ON THE 30TH. 2013 WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR ITS RECORD BREAKING WARM AND DRY SUMMER. A REMARKABLE HEAT WAVE BAKED THE INTERIOR BEGINNING ON THE 14TH OF JUNE AND CONTINUING WELL INTO JULY. THE WEEK OF 23RD TO 29TH OF JUNE WAS THE WARMEST WEEK EVER RECORDED AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT AND MAY BE THE WARMEST WEEK OF RECORD AT ANY LOCATION IN ALASKA. THE MERCURY SOARED TO 92 DEGREES BOTH ON THE 25TH AND THE 26TH. THE LOW TEMPERATURE OF 70 DEGREES ON THE 25TH SET A MAXIMUM LOW TEMPEATRURE RECORED AND MAY BE THE HIGHEST RELIABLE CALENDAR DAY LOW TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED IN ALASKA. JUNE RANKED AS THE 10TH DRIEST OF 101 YEARS OF RECORD. JULY REMAINED HOT AND DRY AND HAMPERED FIRE FIGHTING EFFORTS ON SEVERAL WILD FIRES ACROSS THE INTERIOR. THE METEOROLOGICAL SUMMER WHICH IS THE 3 MONTH PERIOD FROM JUNE THROUGH AUGUST WAS THE SECOND WARMEST ON RECORD AND THE 17TH DRIEST. THE MERCURY HIT 80 DEGREES OR WARMER ON 36 DAYS DURING THE SUMMER OF 2013 SHATTERING THE AVERAGE OF 11 DAYS. THE MERCURY REACHED 85 DEGREES ON 14 DAYS AND REACHED 90 OR ABOVE ON TWO DAYS. TEMPERATURES IN AUGUST WERE ABOVE AVERAGE AND REMAINED VERY DRY HOWEVER A SIGNIFICANT PATTERN CHANGE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH BROUGHT A WELCOME BREAK FROM THE HOT TEMPERATURES AND DRY CONDITIONS AND BROUGHT MUCH MORE FAVORABLE CONDITIONS FOR FIREFIGHTERS FIGHTING THE MANY FIRES ACROSS THE LOCAL AREA. THE FLIP FROM HOT AND DRY TO COLD AND WET WAS SIGNIFICANT AS MANY OUTLYING AREAS REPORTED A HARD FREEZE WITH TEMPERATURES FALLING INTO THE MIDDLE AND UPPER TWENTIES. THE LOW TEMPERATURE AT THE AIRPORT FOR AUGUST WAS 34 DEGREES ON THE 25TH. COLD AND WET AND YES SNOWY CONDITIONS REMAINED THROUGH SEPTEMBER. THE FIRST SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON AT THE AIRPORT FELL ON THE MORNING OF THE 18TH WHICH WAS ABOUT 2 WEEKS EARLY. THE 123 DAYS BETWEEN THE LAST SNOWFALL OF THE SPRING ON THE 17TH OF MAY AND THE 18TH OF SEPTEMBER WAS THE 4TH SHORTEST SNOW FREE PERIOD AT THE FAIRBANKS AIRPORT. ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT PATTERN CHANGE OCCURRED EARLY IN OCTOBER WITH VERY WARM DRY CHINOOK CONDITIONS DOMINATING THE MONTH. OCTOBER 2013 WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR ITS LACK OF SNOW FALL AND LACK OF SNOW PACK ON THE GROUND. ONLY A TENTH OF AN INCH OF SNOW HAD FALLEN AT THE AIRPORT THROUGH THE MORNING OF THE 31ST WITH ONLY TRACE AMOUNTS FALLING AND MELTING ON SEVEN DAYS IN OCTOBER. THE SNOW DEPTH AT THE AIRPORT REMAINED ZERO UNTIL THE EVENING OF THE 31ST WHEN 0.6 INCHES OF SNOW FELL. SNOW DEPTH IS RECORDED IN WHOLE INCHES SO THE 0.6 INCHES ROUNDED UP TO 1 INCH OF SNOW COVER. THE LAST MINUTE SNOWFALL PREVENTED MATCHING A LONG STANDING SNOW DEPTH RECORD FOR THE 31ST OF OCTOBER. THE LAST TIME SNOW DEPTH ON THE 31ST OF OCTOBER WAS ZERO IN FAIRBANKS WAS IN 1925 AND IS THE ONLY OCCURRENCE OF ZERO SNOW DEPTH IN THE CLIMATE RECORD. THERE HAVE BEEN 5 OCCURRENCES OF A TRACE SNOW DEPTH ON THE 31ST OF OCTOBER IN THE CLIMATE RECORD...THE LATEST OCCURRING IN 1962. OF ALL THE WILD WEATHER IN FAIRBANKS IN 2013 THE ONE THAT WILL BE TALKED ABOUT AND REMEMBERED THE MOST WAS THE ICE AND WIND STORM OF 13 AND 14 NOVEMBER. A POWERFUL STORM MOVED OUT OF THE BERING SEA AND INTO THE INTERIOR WITH VERY WARM TEMPERATURES AND ABUNDANT MOISTURE WHICH FELL AS FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW ON THE MORNING OF THE 13TH. WIDESPREAD FREEZING RAIN WAS REPORTED ACROSS THE AREA CAUSING DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS AND MANY ACCIDENTS REPORTED THE MORNING OF THE 13TH. MANY RESIDENTS REPORTED HAVING TO PULL OVER AND SCRAPE OFF THE FREEZING RAIN THAT BONDED INSTANTLY ON WINDSHIELDS. ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF ONE HALF INCH WERE COMMON ACROSS THE AREA NOT ONLY ON ROAD SURFACES BUT TREES AND POWER LINES AS WELL. 3.9 INCHES OF SNOW FELL DURING THE DAY AT THE AIRPORT WITH 4 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW FALLING IN THE HILLS. THE SNOW ADDED TO HEAVY ICE LOADS ALREADY ON TREES AND POWER LINES. THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE PORTION OF THE STORM CAME WITH THE WINDS THAT BLASTED INTO THE AREA LATE IN THE EVENING ON THE 13TH AND CONTINUING THROUGH THE 14TH. WINDS GUSTS PEAKED AT 55 MPH AT THE AIRPORT AT 1239 AM ON THE 14TH AND WAS ONE OF THE STRONGEST WIND GUSTS IN THE PAST DECADE. A WIND GUST OF 62 MPH WAS RECORDED AT FORT WAINWRIGHT. WIND GUSTS IN THE 60 TO 70 MPH RANGE BUFFETED THE HIGHER TERRAIN SURROUND FAIRBANKS OVERNIGHT. NUMEROUS TREES WERE UPROOTED WITH SEVERAL REPORTS OF CAR AND ROOF DAMAGE. THE STORM ULTIMATELY LEFT OVER 14000 PEOPLE WITHOUT POWER ACROSS THE FAIRBANKS AREA...SOME AREAS DID NOT GET POWER BACK FOR NEARLY TWO WEEKS. TEMPERATURES DROPPED TO 27 BELOW ON THE 19TH PROMPTING THE OPENING OF WARMING SHELTERS FOR THOSE WITHOUT POWER ACROSS THE FAIRBANKS AREA AND A DECLARATION OF A STATE OF DISASTER BY THE FAIRBANKS NORTH STAR BOROUGH MAYOR ON MONDAY NOVEMBER 18TH.
Objective Comments and Analysis - All Science, No Politics
Primary Author Richard James
2010-2013 Author Rick Thoman
Friday, January 3, 2014
2013 Review (NOAA)
Here's a nice summary of 2013 weather in Fairbanks, courtesy of the National Weather Service. All in all, an extraordinary year from a meteorological perspective.
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I'm curious what have the temperatures been like this past week - from my spotty survey it seems they are unseasonably mild to warm - with rain falling, even in the interior of the state. But, than I live in Colorado and would like to hear from someone in a bit closer to the action.
ReplyDeletePS nice blog !
It's been warmer in Fairbanks than in central Canada and many of the Lower 48 States. That's due to upper air flow...Jetstream looping (one Model's example: http://www.weatherstreet.com/states/gfsx-300-forecast.htm). That's been directing relatively warm air N>NE across Alaska, picking up cold from the Polar regions, and sweeping it SE into the US of A.
DeleteDespite our typical ignorance and lack of media exposure of other country's conditions, Canada harbors lots of cold, especially those areas away from oceanic influence.
In Alaska we warm from nearby air flow from the SW>S>SE, and chill from NW>N>NE flow from cold locations. We'll see the influence of the latter scenario starting this weekend, with forecast surface temps around -30F by next week (again: http://www.weatherstreet.com/states/gfsx-sfc-temperature-and-wind-forecast.htm).
With any luck this winter's pattern of brief warm>cold> warm will continue for Alaska.
Gary (not a professional weather guy)