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.

...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.