Average Weather Charts (Fairbanks: university, land, office)

[cjg5]

Well winter is creeping up on the Northern Hemisphere once again and with it my desire for Alaska also once again burns. Came across this: Average Weather in Alaska - Current Results while perusing the internets for Alaska related information, putting here for all curious of this type of thing to see. 5 different weather related categories broken down by month (or by annual average) for select locations all over Alaska.

Average Weather in Alaska - Current Results

[Glitch]

I have yet to encounter an "average" anything in Alaska with regard to the weather.

[MissingAll4Seasons]

I did notice that, according to the charts, Fairbanks appears much warmer than it normally is in winter... I guess the monthly averages get skewed enough by the 2-3 days when a Chinook comes through and raises the temps 30-40 degrees. Makes the -40 look like a "cold snap" when in fact that's closer to norm most days and we just had a "warm snap" in there for a day or two.

[cjg5]

Originally Posted by Glitch

I have yet to encounter an "average" anything in Alaska with regard to the weather.

However the same can be said for many locations all over the world. Averages help to paint an (incomplete) picture that can be a starting point for people researching an area.

[MissingAll4Seasons]

I's like to see some weather charts where the outliers are removed before factoring the averages... I mean, 2-3 days in winter that are 50 degs above normal or 2-3 days in summer that are 30 degs below normal can paint an entirely inappropriate picture of what to really expect. Most people aren't savvy enough to take all the monthly "averages", then average those, and realize that average is not the same as the yearly average... which means somewhere in a month or two, you've got a few outliers that are skewing the numbers... but which month and what impact??

Anyone who plans to spend a winter in Fairbanks thinking that the average temp is 1F in January is in for a big shocker. Similarly, anyone who thinks the average temp in Austin in August is only 97F.

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by MissingAll4Seasons

I's like to see some weather charts where the outliers are removed before factoring the averages... I mean, 2-3 days in winter that are 50 degs above normal or 2-3 days in summer that are 30 degs below normal can paint an entirely inappropriate picture of what to really expect. Most people aren't savvy enough to take all the monthly "averages", then average those, and realize that average is not the same as the yearly average... which means somewhere in a month or two, you've got a few outliers that are skewing the numbers... but which month and what impact??

Anyone who plans to spend a winter in Fairbanks thinking that the average temp is 1F in January is in for a big shocker. Similarly, anyone who thinks the average temp in Austin in August is only 97F.

I agree, and in this case averages should be depicted with their extremes. For example, the average temperature for Fairbanks may be +1°F in January, with a temperature ranging from -48°F to +50°F. At least then a person can tell that there are probably just as many days at -48°F as there are days at +50°F.

[Chilkoot]

This site is kind of nice in that it shows historical actual temp/precip for many Alaska communities by month and year.
National Weather Service, Alaska Region Headquarters, AK

Check out Fairbanks for December 30, 1980 that shows a low of -35 and then December 31 with a high of +33. I remember this and it was like a heat wave going outside after a long month of cold temps.

[cjs123]

A lot of information on there. I've bookmarked that page; thanks for posting.

[starlite9]

Reading a story about the Ice is getting thicker in the Antarctic verses the Arctic is melting. For the Global warming folks they are all still screaming the end is near! But it will refreeze the Arctic again and the world will be white again!

Ice expanding in much of Antarctica Eastern coast getting colder Western section remains a concern

ICE is expanding in much of Antarctica, contrary to the widespread public belief that global warming is melting the continental ice cap.

The results of ice-core drilling and sea ice monitoring indicate there is no large-scale melting of ice over most of Antarctica, although experts are concerned at ice losses on the continent's western coast.
Antarctica has 90 per cent of the Earth's ice and 80 per cent of its fresh water, The Australian reports. Extensive melting of Antarctic ice sheets would be required to raise sea levels substantially, and ice is melting in parts of west Antarctica. The destabilisation of the Wilkins ice shelf generated international headlines this month.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/a...#ixzz29EHBrNsJ



Then about January, we will hear that a monster Ice sheet has broken loose in the Antarctic again... Which of course is their summer there.... and then the -60 stuff will return there as well, in our spring up North, and the screaming will continue as ice melts... it's called spring. If you Google Antartic Ice thickness and you get a lot of stories like these. Pretty interesting, but I don't lose sleep over it, it is a cycle and will keep doing it after we are all gone!

Antarctic ice growing, not shrinking
By Greg Roberts
18 Apr 09 - "Ice is expanding in much of Antarctica, contrary to the
widespread public belief that global warming is melting the continental ice cap."
See Antarctic ice growing, not shrinking

No Global Warming in Antarctica
15 Sep 07 - "It's hard to see a global-warming signal from the
mainland of Antarctica right now," says head of Polar Meteorology
Group at the Byrd Polar Research Center
See No Global Warming in Antarctica

Record snows crush historic Antarctic hut - 28 Nov 06
See Record Snows Crush Antarctic Hut

Ice and snow piling up over a large area of Antarctica -
19 May 2005 - According to a new study published in the online edition of Science, the East AntarcticIce Sheet gained about 45 billion tons of ice between 1992 and 2003. The ice sheets are several kilometers thick in places, and contain about 90% of the world's ice.

Using data from the European Space Agency's radar satellites ERS-1 and ERS-2, a research team from the University of Missouri, Columbia, measured changes in altitude over about 70% of Antarctica's interior. East Antarctica thickened at an average rate of about 1.8 centimeters per year over the time period studied, the researchers discovered.
The region comprises about 75% of Antarctica 's total land area and about 85% of the total ice volume. The area in question covers more than 2.75 million square miles - roughly the same size as the United States.
(This means that more than 90 percent of the world's glaciers are growing thicker … while the media keeps yelling about the ones that are melting.)
http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050516/full/050516-10.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/20/science/20ICE.html

Antarctic snow pack increasing 5 feet per year
18 Jul 05 – Here’s another case where the media seems to be trying to hide the fact that snow levels are increasing in Antarctica. The headline, about the Halley VI research station, reads “Base on skis wins polar contract.” The article then rambles on for ten paragraphs before almost mentioning that snow is accumulating in the area at the rate of five feet (1.5m) per year, and that “the previous four bases were all buried.”
Think about that. Snow is accumulating over an area bigger than the
continental United States. How in the world are sea levels supposed to rise, if so much moisture is getting locked up on land as ice? (They're not.)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4693409.stm


Full story at: Record_Lows_2001

[Moose Whisperer]

Global warming stopped 16 years ago, reveals Met Office report quietly released... and here is the chart to prove it | Mail Online

The world stopped getting warmer almost 16 years ago, according to new data released last week. The figures, which have triggered debate among climate scientists, reveal that from the beginning of 1997 until August 2012, there was no discernible rise in aggregate global temperatures.

The new data, compiled from more than 3,000 measuring points on land and sea, was issued quietly on the internet, without any media fanfare, and, until today, it has not been reported.