Alaska Weather (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Wasilla: houses, airplanes, buildings)

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by bkyhi

I think I'm going to get lucky today - it's only -10 and we have light winds. Outside won't be too bad.

Looks like we've lucked out too. The forecast two days ago was for 30 below today. Then yesterday they changed it to moderate today, but 40 below tomorrow.

Hah, the current forecast says maybe -20 tonight, and then gradually warming for the next several days. Guess all the cold got sucked into the Interior. Not that they deserve it or anything, but that won't break my heart.

I was worried it would be -40 tomorrow, cause I'm gonna go photograph Benjamin's 3rd grade Christmas program at Ipalook. If you want to go it will be fun! He's not as cute as he was in kindergarten, but kids his age are still a lot of fun to watch. He's also a bit happy that I'm going, just because he wants to compete with Cynthia and I photographed her concert last week.

[aloft94]

Originally Posted by Floyd_Davidson

To be a little more specific, Fairbanks is in the "Interior", which is a huge bowl between 10-12K thousand foot high mountains to the south (the Alaska Range) and to the north (the Brooks Range). The nearest large body of water is hundreds of miles to the west (the Bering Sea), and that's where most weather systems come from. Weather systems that affect Fairbanks generally form in the Indian Ocean no less! They roll up the western Pacific Ocean along the coast of Asia, and when they get to the Bering Sea they either move on to the east along the southern coast of Alaska, or go north into the Bering Sea. In the Bering Sea some of the storms move inland, and eventually go all the way to Fairbanks (others go to the Arctic Ocean and move eastward there and hit Barrow). Which way they move out of the Bering Sea is mostly a function of high or low pressure systems in Siberia.

Is that how it works? I thought that most of the weather systems either came up from the gulf and down from the arctic.

[Floyd_Davidson]

Originally Posted by aloft94

Is that how it works? I thought that most of the weather systems either came up from the gulf and down from the arctic.

The effect of those mountain ranges is tremendous. It's very visible even with casual observation when driving between Anchorage and Fairbanks, or when flying either north or south out of Fairbanks.

As one crosses the mountains there is usually a fairly obvious change from much higher clouds in the Interior to much lower clouds on the coastal side. In the case of going north over the Brooks Range it usually means a solid cloud cover that begins right at the Brooks Range and extending north to the Arctic Ocean. Going south it's perhaps not as dramatic because the terrain on the coastal side is not as flat. But when driving the Parks Highway it is often really interesting to watch the clouds between Healy and Cantwell. In order to get from the coast to the Interior, the clouds have to lose a lot of moisture and be much higher, so just on the coastal side it might be pretty thick, and on the Interior side there are high wispy clouds. A neat transition if you catch it just right.

Few low pressure systems manage to move from South Central Alaska north into the Interior. I'm not much on Anchorage weather patterns though, so I don't know for sure. I think they tend to roll around the North Pacific... and down to the Alaska Panhandle.

On the North Slope most low pressure systems that reach Barrow can be watched developing for days! They originate north of Europe and roll counter clockwise around the Arctic Ocean along the north of Russia and Siberia. The trick is when they reach the Bering Straits, where they might join up with a storm that traveled as described from the Indian Ocean all the way to the Bering Sea. If there's a storm in the Bering Sea and the right conditions in the Russian Far East, a storm on the Arctic Ocean will suck it right up through the Bering Straits. When two storms like that combine, the Arctic coast of Alaska gets a ferocious storm.

In any case, storms on the Arctic Ocean continue counter clockwise across Canada. The warmth of the North Atlantic Current between Greenland and Europe breaks them up.

The clinker in all of this is the north-south jet stream. It's sort of like a hose that squirts warm air into Alaska. Like a water hose, it jumps around like a snake. If it is dumping warm air into the southern parts of Alaska, it's "normal". But sometimes it shifts north. Fairbanks gets up above freezing in January, and the warm air puts pressure on everything north of the Brooks Range and pushes the cold air away from the coast. It still moves from west to east, but cold air from Siberia that should be cooling the North Slope and the Interior is pushed past Alaska, and dumped into Canada. That pushes a lot of cold air out of Canada and into the Lower-48. Usually it's just the Dakotas, Minnesota, and so on where people expect it and love to claim they are colder than Fairbanks Alaska. But sometimes that air gets pushed all the way to Florida too, and they are none to happy with it.

In any case, the mechanics of it means that every weather forecaster in the Lower-48 spends all winter watching the weather in Fairbanks to learn what's in store for them.

[warptman]

This is true, there's an old low passing the slope now with another coming over from Russia, not with love though.

Today's chart.

[Bob Blockus]

Alaskan Wild Life Migrates before weather changes. guess they have intelligence. Think with Harsh Winters Mother Nature kill few bears if they don't stock up on salmon in time. thoughts? Also we should do more for protection of Alaska Bear.

[heathen]

-45 at Ft. Greely today. It's supposed to be even colder tonight so school might be cancelled in Delta tomorrow (-50 cutoff). I'm pretty surprised to see air movement at this temperature, not enough to feel directlry, but enough to show in chimney steam and make it feel that much colder. Looking forward to a beer and a movie...

[AADAD]

nose hairs. ;-)

[Nephler]

Originally Posted by AADAD

nose hairs. ;-)

Funny, I know just what you're saying.
But really, I haven't felt that 'nose hair' thing up here in AK, only back in MI. Odd eh.

[Nephler]

NWS has extended the wind warning, though it really has wind has settled down.


Warning Description: High Wind Warning

Warning Date: 3:42 PM AKST on December 15, 2010

WarningSum:...High Wind Warning Remains In Effect Until 9 Pm Akst This
Evening...

Warning Message:A High Wind Warning remains in effect until 9 PM akst this
evening.
Northeast wind 35 to 50 mph with gusts to 80 mph will continue
through this evening. Winds will slowly diminish below warning
criteria although blustery conditions will continue through
tonight and Thursday.
Precautionary/preparedness actions...
A High Wind Warning means a hazardous high wind event is expected
or occurring. People are urged to secure loose objects that could
be blown around or damaged by the wind.

[Moose Whisperer]

Originally Posted by Nephler

Funny, I know just what you're saying.
But really, I haven't felt that 'nose hair' thing up here in AK, only back in MI. Odd eh.

Yeah, wierd. I get it plenty up in Fbks and points North. Maybe you left all your nose hairs back in MI.