tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post3777483669391273576..comments2024-03-28T07:09:59.093-08:00Comments on Deep Cold: Alaska Weather & Climate: Diurnal CyclesRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03946704894714514716noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post-9087786542901326362015-03-31T09:03:20.829-08:002015-03-31T09:03:20.829-08:00I'm just an observer of nature and not a train...I'm just an observer of nature and not a trained weather forecaster. In general many towns to the north, south, east, and west of Fairbanks can be cooler at certain times of the year. It's called 'Fair-banks' for several reasons.<br /><br />I didn't mention above the effect that warm air above us has on the temperature at the surface. Weather analysts send up a balloon with temperature and other sensors and look for changes as the balloon ascends. Based on the results they forecast how warm it might get through the day at the surface...generally the warmer above the warmer below. <br /><br />Some's magic and some's science, and it's all fun to watch it happen.<br /><br />GaryNL7Yhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15874712728971005352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post-44647218130233833522015-03-31T07:49:13.308-08:002015-03-31T07:49:13.308-08:00HI Gary,
Thanks for the detailed explanation abo...HI Gary,<br /> Thanks for the detailed explanation about the southerly air flow. I learned so much from this blog by reading your comments!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post-78526913102419235262015-03-26T08:25:31.042-08:002015-03-26T08:25:31.042-08:00Among several factors Fairbanks is subject to warm...Among several factors Fairbanks is subject to warmth due to:<br /><br />Lots of dark roads and buildings absorbing solar heat in a sheltered spot. Spring Sun warms them up. Plus there's heat from power plants, furnaces and vehicles.<br /><br />It's location north of the Alaska Range puts it in the path of occasional warm southerly air flow caused by winds forced over mountains. The air from the south is dried than later heated by compression during descent. The heated north to south flow flushes out the cold and warms us up...like forecast for today and tomorrow 3/26-27/2015 with temps in the 40's and 50's.<br /><br />It's lower in elevation than Tok by about 1200'. The higher you go normally the colder it gets.<br /><br />Galena has no heated mountain down flow to cause warmth, has fewer local sources of heat, and is closer to the coast which typically tends to be cooler than Interior Alaska.<br /><br />GaryNL7Yhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15874712728971005352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post-55650734718821572832015-03-25T16:35:13.395-08:002015-03-25T16:35:13.395-08:00Thanks for the question. I'll post something ...Thanks for the question. I'll post something about this soon. I've been snowed under with other projects and a bout of the 'flu recently.<br />Richard Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08313902028896263276noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post-48866622852844230662015-03-24T23:37:23.331-08:002015-03-24T23:37:23.331-08:00Why is the spring in Fairbanks so much warmer than...Why is the spring in Fairbanks so much warmer than other locations in interior Alaska? Places like Tok and Galena are located at lower latitudes but they don't warm up as fast.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4572286363399496963.post-73724772651708813662015-03-21T12:01:36.435-08:002015-03-21T12:01:36.435-08:00Thank you Richard for the analysis. Yes it's c...Thank you Richard for the analysis. Yes it's cold just before dawn and often some surface movement of cold air happens around that time.<br /><br />Here's a new offering of daily forecast conditions for Fairbanks from the NWS. Shows a similar trend as above:<br /><br />http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=64.4822&lon=-147.9059&unit=0&lg=english&FcstType=graphical<br /><br />GaryNL7Yhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15874712728971005352noreply@blogger.com