Global warning is over (Fairbanks, Eielson AFB: 2015, house, transfer)

[David A Stone]

Originally Posted by Haolejohn

once or twice is doable. It is when it stays -30 for weeks on end. I came from GA, and my first winter here, we experienced -30 everyday for 6 weeks straight. High was mid -20s.

When day time temps stay below 0, it takes a toll on one physically and mentally.

[rwjoyak]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

But I remember the '90s when -40 was normal for Fairbanks, and colder in 2012. Take a look:
Weather History for Fairbanks, AK [Alaska] for January

Nice chart, Ray. It shows January 1969 as having the lowest temp ever for that month of -61F. I remember that winter. I was a senior in high school and it was the first year I needed to keep a vehicle running in the winter (an older pickup). One of those "becoming an adult" experiences that sticks in the memory.

Interesting that the lowest recorded temperature at the airport for January 1989 is only -51, when all of us that lived through that winter know it was a heck of a lot colder than that. I know there are many locations around the area, such as North Pole, that are routinely colder than the airport. But -51 is ridiculously warm compared to what the actual temperatures got down to in 1989.

We lived down near the MUS power plant then and saw -66 on our thermometer. Had to crank up the woodstove as a supplementary heating source. Even then I ended up having to thaw out a part of our hot water baseboard system with a hand torch, where the insulation wasn't installed very well behind it and the cold had found a way in until I plugged it.

I think the airport temp readings, as well as temperatures throughout the main urban area, have been influenced quite a bit by the Fairbanks heat island effect over the last 20-30 years.

[riceme]

^Yes! My cousin has a thermometer outside his house, and one down in the slough (his home is on the bank of the slough outside NP), and it is routinely 5*F colder in the slough. When I lived across the road from them, it was always colder at my cabin, too. The elevation difference between the two places is so slight is almost imperceptible.

Even just a couple vertical feet makes a big difference.

[Metlakatla]

Yeah, I remember once I was over in Glenallen and posted that the temp was -40 -- some troll came along accusing me of lying because the internet said it was only -38. Like a lot of other things about Alaska, the internet doesn't tell the whole story.

The first year my son was born I was living in Talkeetna and it got down to -40 for about two weeks in Feb. That was in '85.

[pittsflyer]

Originally Posted by David A Stone

When day time temps stay below 0, it takes a toll on one physically and mentally.

not as long as its sunny and the frost on the trees is pretty.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by rwjoyak

Nice chart, Ray. It shows January 1969 as having the lowest temp ever for that month of -61F. I remember that winter. I was a senior in high school and it was the first year I needed to keep a vehicle running in the winter (an older pickup). One of those "becoming an adult" experiences that sticks in the memory.

Interesting that the lowest recorded temperature at the airport for January 1989 is only -51, when all of us that lived through that winter know it was a heck of a lot colder than that. I know there are many locations around the area, such as North Pole, that are routinely colder than the airport. But -51 is ridiculously warm compared to what the actual temperatures got down to in 1989.

We lived down near the MUS power plant then and saw -66 on our thermometer. Had to crank up the woodstove as a supplementary heating source. Even then I ended up having to thaw out a part of our hot water baseboard system with a hand torch, where the insulation wasn't installed very well behind it and the cold had found a way in until I plugged it.

I think the airport temp readings, as well as temperatures throughout the main urban area, have been influenced quite a bit by the Fairbanks heat island effect over the last 20-30 years.

You are correct about the temperature by the airport. While it may be colder than some areas around Fairbanks (maybe because it's a wide open area), it gets a lot colder outside of Fairbanks. In North Pole it gets a lot colder closer to the Tanana River and Eielson Farms Road. The same as you get closer to Chena Lakes. It gets extremely cold by Delta Junction and Tok, and right out of Fairbanks by Goldstream Road, and by Fox. Another area that can be crazy cold is the open area on the Richardson by the Tanana and the Boomdox.

[Frostnip]

Originally Posted by 6.7traveler

I don't have grid power and basically use a little generator and some batteries. This makes keeping the car plugged in all the time somewhat of a challenge. If it hits the potentially forecasted -50, or even a sustained -40 for days, would I be better off basically leaving the car on the entire duration of the cold snap, or will a few hours of being plugged in before starting suffice still at those temps?

Plugging it in for a few hours before you drive is sufficient for most of the vehicle's systems, but you risk letting the battery lose all charge and/or freeze if you let it sit cold too long. (As me how I know! lol) I'd recommend either cycling the power to the vehicle's plug - you can get timers that do this automatically so you don't have to plug and unplug - or just bringing the battery inside, if you're handy at that sort of thing. Just be careful if you do fiddle around with removing and replacing the battery, as those connectors can be really brittle at these temps.

[RayinAK]

Hopefully the snow coming in will postpone the "interior of Alaska global cooling" until at least summer

[6.7traveler]

Thanks for the tips Frostnip.

Everything at the homestead operates somewhat smoothly at -30 below, but they were making this into front page news of possible -50 temps, which I've never experienced and got me a tad worried. The coldest temperature on my land since I've lived here was -40 this past Novemeber and only briefly. Lots of -30s something belows though. Maybe it's about time I become fully initiated and experienced with a real interior winter though .

Some weather websites are now scaling back on the extreme cold predictions of -50 and upping them to -35 below or so. I guess we will find out soon either way soon enough. Delta is supposed to be spared the brunt of it with potentially cloudy skies and a balmy -25 below.

I only live 20 miles outside of town and there is routinely a 20 degree temperature difference, in either direction, between my place and town. Maybe I should start looking at Tok's weather and averaging the two.

As much as I despise the state of Florida, I'm looking forward to escaping down there to see family for three weeks soon. See the sun and warm up. Although I know some time spent with the masses of humanity down there will have me begging to return by week 2, if not sooner.

[6.7traveler]

And it's over before it began https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/weat...and-anchorage/ not going to get real cold after dYs of front page news