Incoming Storm

GOES 11 IR image at 730pm ADT Thursday with a nice view of the rapidly deepening storm in the Gulf of Alaska...forecast to deepen below 960mb Friday morning. This will pump more warm air into the Interior.

Yukon Freeze Up

The chinook busted through Thursday afternoon in Fairbanks, but on the other side of the Yukon-Tanana uplands it remained chilly. This photo late in afternoon from Beaver (viathe FAA webcam), with a slough of the Yukon River icing up.

Cold in the Interior

Everything I know...

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
541 PM AKDT TUE SEP 28 2010

...UNUSUALLY COLD TEMPERATURES IN INTERIOR...

...WARM-UP ON THE WAY...

TEMPERATURES THIS MORNING WERE UNUSUALLY LOW FOR SO EARLY IN THE
AUTUMN OVER ALL OF INTERIOR ALASKA. THERE WERE NUMEROUS REPORTS
OF LOW TEMPERATURES BELOW ZERO...AND A FEW RECORDS WERE SET.

THE LOWEST TEMPERATURES WERE REPORTED FROM AUTOMATED WEATHER
STATIONS ON THE YUKON FLATS. A STATION ALONG BEAVER
CREEK...BETWEEN BIRCH CREEK VILLAGE AND BEAVER VILLAGE REPORTED A
LOW OF 11 BELOW...AND AN AUTOMATED STATION BETWEEN FORT YUKON AND
CHALKYITSIK REPORTED 10 BELOW. OTHER LOW TEMPERATURES TUESDAY
MORNING IN THE INTERIOR INCLUDE...

CHICKEN......................................................5 BELOW
CIRCLE HOT SPRINGS.............................5 BELOW
SEVEN MILE DOT (DALTON HIGHWAY).........5 BELOW
DENALI VISITORS CENTER..................4 BELOW
CENTRAL....................................................2 BELOW
BIRCH CREEK (ABOVE THE STEESE BRIDGE)...2 BELOW
BOLIO LAKE (NEAR FORT GREELY)...........2 BELOW
HEALY AIRPORT.............................................ZERO
CHENA HOT SPRINGS...................................ZERO
BETTLES...........................................................ZERO
DRY CREEK.....................................................2 ABOVE
COLDFOOT.........................................................3 ABOVE
FORT YUKON....................................................3 ABOVE
ARCTIC VILLAGE...........................................5 ABOVE

IN THE FAIRBANKS AREA...MOST NOTABLY...THE LOW OF 3 ABOVE AT
EIELSON AFB IS THE LOWEST SEPTEMBER TEMPERATURE OF RECORD
THERE...BREAKING THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 5 ABOVE SET ON
SEPTEMBER 27 1992.

THE LOW OF 14 ABOVE AT THE AIRPORT...WHILE NOT A RECORD...IS THE
LOWEST SEPTEMBER TEMPERATURE SINCE 1993.

AN AUTOMATED WEATHER STATION ABOUT 15 MILES ABOVE THE RICHARDSON
HIGHWAY BRIDGE ON THE SALCHA RIVER REPORTED A LOW OF 4 BELOW.
OTHER LOW TEMPERATURES TUESDAY MORNING IN THE FAIRBANKS AREA
INCLUDE...

GOLDSTREAM CREEK........................ZERO
GILMORE CREEK...........................5 ABOVE
CHATANILA (MILE 42 STEESE)..............5 ABOVE
NORTH POLE..............................6 ABOVE
EAST FORT WAINWRIGHT....................6 ABOVE
UAF WEST RIDGE.........................11 ABOVE
COLLEGE 5NW (GOLDSTREAM HILLS).........16 ABOVE
KEYSTONE RIDGE.........................20 ABOVE

TONIGHT WILL NOT BE QUITE AS CHILLY IN MOST PLACES...AND MUCH
WARMER WEATHER WILL RETURN TO INTERIOR ALASKA DURING THE NEXT FEW
DAYS AS A SERIES OF STORMS MOVING THROUGH THE GULF OF ALASKA PUMP
MILD AIR BACK INTO THE REGION.

$$
RT SEP 2010..

Point Lay Sunset

Snow showers Monday evening over the Chukchi Sea at Point Lay.

Tastes of Winter

A few flurries in the Fairbanks area Sunday. Monday morning low temperatures mostly teens and lower. The low of 19F at Keystone Ridge is the second earliest sub-20 degree temperature in 15 years of observations. The low of 16F at Fairbanks airport is the lowest September temperature since 1993, and the more remarkable with the lack of snow cover today. The cold spots were in the single digits, with 6 above at Goldstream Creek and Chatanika (Mile 43 Steese). The lowest reported temperature in the area was 3 above at the Angel Creek RAWS, near Chena Hot Springs. This site, though on the valley bottom, is not usually a cold spot as there is often a downvalley drainage wind here that breaks the inversion. Not this morning though.

Apparently one record low this morning: 0F in Bettles breaks the old record for Sept 27th of +6F set in 1957 and ties the record low for September. Again all with no snow on the ground.

There also was some snow Sunday in the Anchorage area, including at least a small accumulation on the hillside

Brooks Range Snow

FAA webcam photos from Anaktuvuk Pass (top) and Arctic Village (bottom) this morning. The snow cover at Arctic Village is from the snow Saturday evening. Anaktuvuk has had some snow cover for a few days now.

Surf's Up

6pm Saturday webcam photo from Barrow. Surf's up and a fresh dusting of snow. West wind gusting to 40 mph and pack ice hundreds of miles north and northwest. Note the seaward berm the city has plowed up. Coastal Flood Warning in effect until 6am Sunday.

The 10am ADT Saturday surface analysis from Environment Canada shows the storm northeast of Barrow and the high building across the northern Siberia coast into the Chukchi Sea. This is a classic set-up for Barrow coastal flooding.

First subzero temps of the season

Updated:
Beaver Creek RAWS (Southwest of Fort Yukon) reported a low of 5 below this morning, and the Chalkytisk RAWS (actually half way between Fort Yukon and Chalkytisk) had -3F, and Circle Hot Springs Coop 0F.

In the greater Fairbanks area, winds died off in some, but not all valley locations. Where winds went calm, lows included +2F at the SalchaRiver RAWS, 11F at Chatanika (Mile 43 Steese) and 13F at Goldstream Creek and Birch Lake DOT. Valley locations that kept a wind were mostly in the 20s, including at least some of the usually colder North Pole area sites.

Also, this morning was the first RAOB to be completely below freezing.

Freeze by Day

Looks like many places above 2000' MSL failed to get above freezing today: Eagle Summit 23F, MunsonRidge & Montana Creek DOT 29F, Upper Chena Dome 30F, Cleary Summit 32F. With dew points near 10F and a steady wind, here on Keystone Ridge (high 35F) the puddle at the slop pile never thawed.

Sunshine

So today is the 15th straight day with no precipitation and either clear or mostly clear skies. Such streaks occur in late winter, but it seems quite unusual in the warm season. With the advent of the ASOS as the source of surface observations in December 1996, there are no longer reliable or continuous sky cover statistics, but this is certainly unusual.

More on the Big Plunge

Here's a graphic of the 925 mb temp (typically about 2200' above the ground this time of year) during the mega-ridge and the dramatic change Tuesday night. It's not much hyperbole to say that summer ended at 530pm Tuesday.

Freeze at Last

The Fairbanks Airport made it to freezing late Wednesday evening, so the date of first freeze goes into the books as Sept 22nd, two weeks later than normal and tied for 4th latest of record. Over the past 5 years, the dates of first freeze are:

2006 Sep 25
2007 Sep 21
2008 Sep 21
2009 Sep 23
2010 Sep 22

During this time there have been no instrumental or exposure changes.

What a Differnce a Day Makes

Clear skies and bright sunshine, and…
Fairbanks Airport Tuesday max temperature 64F, Wednesday 48F
McGarth Road (1170' MSL) Tuesday max temperature 60F, Wednesday 43F
Keystone Ridge Tuesday max temperature 55F, Wednesday 39F

End of Summer

Summer in Fairbanks ended late Tuesday afternoon when the dry, cloud free cold front blasted thru the area. Temperatures aloft have fallen quite dramatically, and most higher elevations are now below freezing. The low of 29F here on Keystone Ridge is the first freeze of the autumn. Combined with 15 to 35 mph winds, it feels like autumn too.

Meanwhile, most valley locations are no colder than recent mornings, thanks to the breeze and so little inversion. Fairbanks Airport still hasn't been to freezing, though I suspect that will occur this evening.

Frosty Morning

Frosty webcam shot late Tuesday morning from Ivotuk, southwest of Umiat in the foothills of the Brooks Range.

Snow

Flurries the past 24 hours at Deadhorse and Kaktovik. Freeze coming for Fairbanks. Is this the end of summer?

More record high temps

Updated:
High temperatures of 60F at both Nome and Kotzebue Sunday are new records for Sept 19th. The mega-ridge lives.

McGrath Heat

The big ridge aloft that has brought more than a week of sunny and warm weather to much of the Interior is drifting westward and weakening. McGrath set or a tied a record high every day Sunday through Friday. The five days this month in the 70s in McGrath is the most ever in September.

Denali Sunrise

I just can't resist another gorgeous Denali sunrise shot at 816am Saturday, from the NPS webcam at Wonder Lake:

Endless Summer

Snow Friday evening in Bismark, ND, snow on Mt Washington, NH, and Fairbanks awaits the first freeze. So it is with life under the mega-ridge. Notice the nearly continuous above normal temperatures since late July.