With incessant cloud cover, the average daily temperature range so far this month in Fairbanks is only 12.4°F, far lower than the normal range of 20°F, and easily the lowest on record. No crisp frosty mornings and dry sunny days this year.
Here's a chart (click to enlarge) of the number of hours with rain, snow, or drizzle reported in Fairbanks in the first half of September since 1950. The 2026 total would rise quite a bit if we included the 16th and 17th, as it's been raining almost non-stop in the last two days.
Notice the consecutive high number of hours since 2022 - this is the fifth straight year with unusually frequent precipitation in the first half of September. It seems quite likely that this is related to the persistence of unusual warmth in the northwestern Pacific Ocean since 2022. Some may recall that the emergence of that sea surface temperature anomaly was implicated in the intensity of ex-Typhoon Merbok in September of that year:
Last month's SST anomaly map shows the similarity of the ocean temperature pattern this autumn:
There are possible complications with a saturated water table, and winter cold soon thereafter. Most have to do with underground plumbing throughout the following winter. But the condition can also affect vegetation and create surface frost heaving or jacking of structures. I guess we'll see what happens.
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