The first accumulating snow fell in Fairbanks today - right on time according to the calendar. The median date since 1930 is October 2nd. But these were also the first flakes to be reported in the air at the airport, and that typically happens a few days earlier: September 26 on average.
Its getting white outside our office this morning. ❄️A weather front moving east across the Interior will bring areas of light snow ranging from one half to 2 inches before the snow ends tonight. How much snow have you seen so far? Have a nice day out there. #akwx pic.twitter.com/3AezK9w2JX
— NWS Fairbanks (@NWSFairbanks) October 3, 2023
This morning's Fairbanks sounding showed a temperature profile entirely below freezing, and it's also the first time that has happened so far this season. This is also close to normal. The odds of any particular 3am sounding being entirely below freezing in Fairbanks rises approximately as follows:
10% September 20
25% October 1
50% October 10
75% October 27
85-90% November 15
It's more uncommon to see a sub-freezing profile in the 3pm sounding at the beginning of October, because there's still a modicum of solar heating to produce a modest diurnal temperature cycle. Today's 3pm sounding reported exactly 0°C a small distance above the ground. But the historical frequency of a fully sub-freezing afternoon profile rises quickly as that solar heating gets snuffed out:
10% October 3
25% October 9
50% October 18
75% November 1
85-90% November 15
Appealing views from the Nenana webcam today:
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