Monday, January 31, 2011

Monday, January 31st

Good morning! It was a great weekend here in the Interior. We had highs above zero and sunny skies. On Saturday evening, we enjoyed one of our favorite winter sports, UAF Nanook Hockey. The Nooks walloped the Ohio State Buckeyes 6-2. We followed up the victory on Sunday with a hike around Chena Lakes. We have never been to the lake area in the winter. So, we were amazed by all the activities. There were people ice fishing. There were people skijoring. There were snow machiners. In fact, I think we were the only two people with our winter hiking boots on and walking. It was a beautiful day filled with sunshine!

The weather this week looks to be just a promising as the weekend. While there is a mention of snow tomorrow through Wednesday evening, the temperatures should remain above zero during the day and around 10 below zero at night. For the end of January and the beginning of February, I can't complain!

Current Conditions at 6:30 a.m.:

Temperature: 5 below zero
Skies: Mostly Cloudy
BP: 29.79 and falling
Sunrise: 9:4o a.m.
Sunset: 4:30 p.m.

7 Day Outlook from the NWS:

Today...Increasing clouds. Highs zero to 15 above in the valley and around 25 above on the hills. Northeast winds to 10 mph.

Tonight...Mostly cloudy. Lows 5 above to 5 below in the valley and around 15 above on the hills. East winds to 10 mph.

Tuesday...Cloudy. Chance of snow. Highs 10 to 25. Southeast winds to 10 mph.

Tuesday Night...Cloudy with a chance of snow. Lows around zero. Light winds.

Wednesday...Cloudy with a chance of snow. Highs around 15. Light winds.

Wednesday Night...Mostly cloudy with a chance of snow. Lows near 5 below.

Thursday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 10 above.

Thursday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 5 below.

Friday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 10 above.

Friday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 15 below.

Saturday...Partly cloudy. Highs near 5 above.

Saturday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 10 below.

Sunday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 10 above.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Thursday, January 27th

I find it interesting that because New York City received 18 inches of snow yesterday, the news is reporting that "the entire nation is being pounded by snow!"

Now don't get me wrong, I realize that 2 inches of snow per hour is a heavy snow, but to say the entire nation is being pounded by snow seems a bit egocentric to me. In fact, I've been looking forward to getting more snow here in Fairbanks. Though our forecast is looking brighter for the week, meaning we expect temps to rise to 15 degrees above zero, it doesn't look like we will have much precipitation. We won't be getting pummelled, let alone pounded.

Current conditions at 6:30am:

Temperature: 3 degrees above zero
Skies: Light snow in the vicinity
BP: 30.02 and rising
Sunrise: 9:53 a.m.
Sunset: 4:16 p.m.

7 Day Outlook from the NWS:

Today...Mostly cloudy with flurries. Highs zero to 10 above zero. Light winds.

Tonight...Partly cloudy. Lows 5 below to 15 below zero...except around 5 above in the hills. Light winds.

Friday...Partly cloudy. Highs zero to 20 above...warmest in the hills. East winds around 10 mph.

Friday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows 10 below to 15 above...warmest in the hills. East winds 10 to 15 mph.

Saturday...Partly cloudy. Highs 10 to 20. East winds around 10 mph.

Saturday Night...Mostly clear. Lows near 5 below.

Sunday...Partly cloudy. Highs near 15.

Sunday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows near 5 below.

Monday...Partly cloudy. Highs near 15.

Monday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows near 10 below.

Tuesday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 15.

Tuesday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 10 below.

Wednesday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 15.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Wednesday, January 26th

Good morning! Tuesday was a beautiful day. We had highs right around zero and it felt wonderful. We took advantage of the warm weather and grilled steaks last night for dinner. I think I could easily get used to the warm temperatures. While I know we still have a long way to go until Spring, the extra daylight and the temps are a welcomed relief. So, if you have the day off or want to call in sick, get out and enjoy this warm spell!

Current conditions at 6:30 a.m.:

Temperature: 7 degrees below zero
Skies: Mostly Cloudy
BP: 29.40 and steady
Sunrise: 9:56 a.m.
Sunset: 4:12 p.m.

7 Day Outlook from the NWS:

Today...Mostly cloudy. Highs 5 below to 25 above...warmest over the hills. Light winds.

Tonight...Cloudy with scattered snow showers. Lows zero to 10 below...except around 10 above in the hills. Light winds.

Thursday...Mostly cloudy. Highs zero to 20 above...warmest over the hills. Light winds.

Thursday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows 5 below to zero. East winds around 10 mph.

Friday...Mostly cloudy. Highs around 15. East winds 10 to 15 mph.

Friday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 5 above.

Saturday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 15.

Saturday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows near zero.

Sunday...Partly cloudy. Highs near 15.

Sunday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 5 above.

Monday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 20.

Monday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 5 above.

Tuesday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 20.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Tuesday, January 25th

Good morning! It looks to be a beautiful day here in the Interior. We could see highs ranging from 5 below to 25 above (warmest in the hills). We are gaining 6 minutes of daylight. It's amazing what warm temperatures and more sunlight can do for a person's attitude. Many people I see are smiling and laughing more and seem genuinely happier! All I can say is, "Bring on summer!"

Current conditions at 6:30 a.m.:

Temperature: 19 below zero
Skies: Mostly Cloudy
BP: 29.31 and falling
Sunrise: 9:59 a.m.
Sunset: 4:09 p.m.

7 Day Outlook from the NWS:

Today...Cloudy. Highs 5 below to 25 above...warmest over the hills. Light winds.

Tonight...Mostly cloudy. Lows 10 below to 20 above...warmest over the hills. Light winds.

Wednesday...Cloudy. Highs 5 below to 25 above...warmest over the hills. Light winds.

Wednesday Night...Cloudy with a chance of snow. Lows 10 below to 15 above...warmest over the hills. Light winds.

Thursday...Cloudy with a chance of snow. Highs zero to 20 above...warmest over the hills. Light winds.

Thursday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows near 10 below.

Friday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 15.

Friday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 5 above.

Saturday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 15.

Saturday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows near 5 above.

Sunday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 15.

Sunday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 5 above.

Monday...Partly cloudy. Highs near 20.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Friday, January 21st

Good morning! What a crazy Thursday! Maybe it was so crazy because it was so cold. Oh, how I would love to blame it on the weather, but in reality it probably had nothing to do with it. Could it have been the full moon? Yes, that must have been it! With Thursday behind me, all I can say is, "Thank God It's Friday!"

Current Conditions at 6:00 a.m.:

Temperature: 43.8 below zero
Skies: Fair with ice fog in the area
BP: 29.60 and falling
Sunrise: 10:10 a.m.
Sunset: 3:55 p.m.

7 Day Outlook from the NWS:

Today...Mostly clear. Patchy ice fog. Highs 25 to 35 below in the valley and around 5 below in the hills. Light winds.

Tonight...Mostly clear. Patchy ice fog. Lows 30 to 45 below in the valley and around 10 below in the hills. Light winds.

Saturday...Mostly clear. Patchy ice fog. Highs 25 to 35 below in the valley and around 5 below in the hills. Light winds.

Saturday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows 30 to 45 below. Light winds.

Sunday...Increasing clouds. Highs 5 to 20 below. Light winds.

Sunday Night...Cloudy. Chance of snow. Lows near 20 below.

Monday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 15 above.

Monday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 5 above.

Tuesday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 15 above.

Tuesday Night...Cloudy. Chance of snow. Lows near 10 below.

Wednesday...Cloudy. Chance of snow. Highs near 15 above.

Wednesday Night...Cloudy. Chance of snow. Lows near 10 below.

Thursday...Cloudy. Chance of snow. Highs near 15 above.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Thursday, January 20th

Good chilly morning! It is 42 below, at the moment. This means that we will most definitely have another day of indoor recess. It also means that I will need to wear a coat and mittens this morning.

The last time it was 40 below, I walked into our school without a coat or hand protection. Before you think I'm crazy, I always keep a heavy coat and an emergency bag with thermals, hand warmer, 40 below boots, a scarf, hat, etc. in my car at all times. So, I have the proper gear, if I were to need it. So, anyway, I walked up to the door of our school and grabbed the handle to open the door. As I touched the 40 below metal handle, my skin stuck to the metal and gave me quite a burn! Yes, I learned a very valuable lesson. Always have on gloves or mittens when it's this cold to keep from getting burned.

It looks as if we will start to moderate on Saturday with highs of 10 below. It will warm even more on Monday and we will be above zero!

Current Conditions at 6:30 a.m.:

Temperature: 42 below zero
Skies: Clear
BP: 29.74 and steady
Sunrise: 10:13 a.m.
Sunset: 3:51 p.m.

7 Day Outlook from the NWS:

Today...Mostly clear. Patchy ice fog. Highs 20 to 35 below in the valley and around 5 below in the hills. Light winds.

Tonight...Mostly clear. Patchy ice fog. Lows 30 to 45 below in the valley and around 10 below in the hills. Light winds.

Friday...Partly cloudy. Highs 15 to 30 below in the valley and around 5 below in the hills. Light winds.

Friday Night...Increasing clouds. Lows 25 to 40 below in the valley and around 10 below in the hills. Light winds.

Saturday...Cloudy. Chance of snow. Highs 5 to 15 below. Light winds.

Saturday Night...Cloudy. Lows near 15 below.

Sunday...Cloudy. Chance of snow. Highs near 5 above.

Sunday Night...Cloudy. Chance of snow. Lows near 5 below.

Monday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 10 above.

Monday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 5 below.

Tuesday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 10 above.

Tuesday Night...Cloudy. Chance of snow. Lows near 5 below.

Wednesday...Cloudy. Chance of snow. Highs near 10 above.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Wednesday, January 19th

Good morning! Well, it was another day of indoor recess yesterday. What does that mean? It means that it was too cold for the kids to go outside for recess. In our district, if it is colder than 20 below zero, we stay inside. That equals some very antsy kids! Today and tomorrow look as if we could have the same scenario. The NWS is calling for highs between 20 and 30 below for today and tomorrow. The students will be bouncing off the walls by Friday!

It looks as if we could see a warm up by Sunday with a high of 10 above! That trend looks to continue into early next week. Keep your fingers crossed!

Current Conditions at 6:30 a.m.:

Temperature: 26 degrees below zero
Skies: Clear
BP: 30.01 and falling
DP: -24.3
Sunrise: 10:16 a.m.
Sunset: 3:48 p.m.

7 Day Outlook from the NWS:

Today...Clear. Patchy ice fog. Highs 20 to 30 below...except 10 below over hills. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight...Clear. Patchy ice fog. Lows 30 to 40 below...except around 20 below in the hills. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday...Clear. Patchy ice fog. Highs 20 to 30 below...except around 5 below in the hills. Light winds.

Thursday Night...Mostly clear. Lows 25 to 35 below zero. Northeast winds to 10 mph.

Friday...Increasing clouds. Highs around 10 below. Northeast winds to 10 mph.

Friday Night...Partly cloudy with a slight chance of snow. Lows near 15 below.

Saturday...Cloudy. Highs near 5 below.

Saturday Night...Cloudy. Lows near 15 below.

Sunday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 10 above.

Sunday Night...Cloudy with a chance of snow. Lows near 5 below.

Monday...Cloudy. Highs near 15.

Monday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 5 below.

Tuesday...Cloudy. Highs near 10 above.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

1/18/2011 Special Weather Statement from NWS

...COLD FRONT PASSING SOUTH ACROSS INTERIOR ALASKA TODAY...

A COLD FRONT STRETCHING FROM CIRCLE TO FAIRBANKS TO MCGRATH AT 6AM THIS MORNING WILL MOVE SOUTH OF THE ALASKA RANGE BY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS FRONT BROUGHT CLOUDS AND FLURRIES ACROSS THE INTERIOR OVERNIGHT. TEMPERATURES WARMED INTO THE TEENS BELOW ZERO OVERNIGHT WITH THE FRONT AS COLD SURFACE AIR IN VALLEYS WAS MIXED OUT BY THE COLD FRONT.

SKIES ARE CLEARING ACROSS THE INTERIOR AS THE FRONT MOVES SOUTH AND TEMPERATURES BEHIND THE COLD FRONT WILL DROP THROUGH THE DAY TODAY. THIS INCLUDES FAIRBANKS WHERE TEMPERATURES WILL DROP TO 30 BELOW BY AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES AT FORT YUKON HAVE DROPPED TO 44 BELOW ALREADY THIS MORNING.

Tuesday, January 18th

Whew! After a couple of weeks off to focus on feeling better, I think I am ready start blogging about the weather here in the Interior of Alaska. In reflecting about what the weather has been like over the past few weeks, it's all a blur. However, I did notice this weekend was remarkably colder than earlier this month. In fact, yesterday, we did not get above 30 below zero until late last night.

Looking at today, it appears that we will have clearing skies with temperatures falling to between 20 and 30 below. Tonight's lows look to be around 35 below zero. Bundle up and stay warm!

Current Conditions at 6:30 a.m.:

Temperature: 25 degrees below zero
Skies: I can see the moon, so I assume it's clear
BP: 30.22 and rising
DP:-30.6
Sunrise: 10:19 a.m.
Sunset: 3:44 p.m.

We are gaining 6 minutes and 3 seconds of daylight today!!!!!

7 Day Outlook from the NWS:

Today...Decreasing clouds. Areas of flurries and fog in the morning. Highs 10 to 20 below...falling to 20 to 30 below by the afternoon. Light winds.

Tonight...Clear and cold with patchy ice fog. Lows near 35 below...except to 15 below in the hills. Light winds.

Wednesday...Clear. Highs 15 below to 25 below zero. East winds around 10 mph.

Wednesday Night...Clear. Lows around 25 below. Northeast winds around 10 mph.

Thursday...Partly cloudy. Highs 15 to 20 below. Light winds.

Thursday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows near 25 below.

Friday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 10 below.

Friday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 20 below.

Saturday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 5 below.

Saturday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 15 below.

Sunday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 5 above.

Sunday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 10 below.

Monday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 10 above.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Wednesday, January 5th

Good morning! This is going to be quick and to the point. First off, there is a Dense Fog Advisory until 10:00 a.m. Visibility will be reduced to 1/4 mile in valley areas.

Current Conditions at 6:30 a.m.:

Temperature: 4 degrees
Skies: Not sure, it's too dark
BP: 29.37 and rising
Sunrise: 10:48 a.m.
Sunset: 3:05 p.m.

7 Day Outlook from the NWS:

Today...Partly cloudy. Areas of fog in valleys and over the flats this morning. Fog will be locally dense until 10 am. Highs 10 to 30...warmest over the hills. Light winds.

Tonight...Increasing clouds. A chance of snow after midnight. Lows zero to 20...warmest over the hills. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph developing.

Thursday...Cloudy with a chance of snow. Temperatures falling to zero to 10 above. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

Thursday Night...Mostly cloudy. A chance of snow in the evening. Lows around 15 below. Southwest winds to 10 mph.

Friday...Partly cloudy. Highs around 5 below. Light winds.

Friday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows near 20 below.

Saturday...Partly cloudy. Highs near 5 below.

Saturday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows near 20 below.

Sunday...Partly cloudy. Highs near 5 below.

Sunday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows near 20 below.

Monday...Mostly clear. Highs near zero.

Monday Night...Mostly clear. Lows near 15 below.

Tuesday...Mostly clear. Highs near 10 below.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Monday, January 3rd (Happy New Year!)

Good morning! It is back to work this week. When the clock went off at 5:30 this morning, I was hoping it was just a dream and that I could sleep for another couple of hours. But, it was not to be.

The weather over Christmas break was interesting. The week before Christmas we were well below zero and no snow in sight. The week after Christmas, we warmed up above zero and it truly felt warm! On New Year's Eve, there was snow to the north of Fairbanks and it did not look as if North Pole would get anything. However, at 3:00 p.m., it started to snow steadily and rather heavily. By 7:00 p.m., as we were getting ready to go to UAF for the fireworks, we had 2 inches on our snow board! On New Year's Day, we headed up to the White Mountains for a hike and the temperature reached 32 degrees (above zero)! In fact, on Saturday, Delta Junction (which is southeast of Fairbanks) hit 52 degrees. Absolutely amazing!!!

So, what does this week have in store? Today, we should continue to see warm temperatures with highs between 25 and 35. However, by the end of the week, it looks as if we will see more seasonable temperatures as we head back below zero.

Current Conditions at 6:30 a.m.:

Temperature: 14.7 degrees
Skies: Partly Cloudy
BP: 29.39 and steady
DP: 13.2
Sunrise: 10:52 a.m.
Sunset: 3:00 p.m.

We are GAINING 3 minutes and 45 seconds of daylight today!

7 Day Outlook from the NWS:

Today...Mostly cloudy. Highs 25 to 35. Local northeast winds 5 to 15 mph...otherwise light winds.

Tonight...Mostly cloudy. Lows 5 to 15. Local northeast winds 5 to 15 mph...otherwise light winds.

Tuesday...Mostly cloudy. Highs 10 to 20. Light winds.

Tuesday Night...Mostly cloudy. A chance of snow. Lows zero to 10 above. Light winds.

Wednesday...Cloudy. A chance of snow. Highs 5 to 15. Light winds.

Wednesday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 5 below.

Thursday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 5 above.

Thursday Night...Mostly cloudy. Lows near 15 below.

Friday...Mostly cloudy. Highs near 5 below.

Friday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows near 15 below.

Saturday...Partly cloudy. Highs near 5 below.

Saturday Night...Partly cloudy. Lows near 20 below.

Sunday...Partly cloudy. Highs near 5 below.