Balmy Fairbanks

Posted at 4:25 PM on January 23, 2009 by Paul Huttner (1 Comments)

It's nice to know they got a thaw in Alaska this January. A really really BIG thaw!

Last week when we shivered in -22 air here in the metro, it was 52 ABOVE in Fairbanks. In fact they had 4 straight days above 44 degrees, while we are begging for a January thaw in these parts.

Fairbanks climate data

In one of the quirks of our atmosphere, it turns out that it's usually warm in Alaska when it's cold in Minnesota in winter. It's because the jet stream has a "long wave" pattern that spaces waves in such a way as to put Minnesota under a cold arctic trough and Alaska under a warm ridge at the same time. It's nice to know they will have been 20 degrees warmer in Fairbanks this month than we are in the Twin Cities.

Stay warm as arctic winds blow this weekend. Temperatures will begin to moderate next Tuesday.

PH

Comments (1)

And if you look at today's 6- to 10-day outlook, you'll see that the Plains has a good chance of having above normal temperatures, while Alaska is almost certain to get below-normal temperatures next week.

Posted by Chris B. Critter | January 28, 2009 11:38 AM

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