PDA

View Full Version : Warmer weather on the horizon



stephanie
02-24-2007, 08:12 PM
It was -50 below where I live...I wanted to take a picture, but I think my thermometer outside is stuck at -40 below...Damn, I hope it this cold snap breaks, soooooooooon...

By Tim Mowry
Staff Writer
Published February 24, 2007


A late-season cold snap that descended on Fairbanks nearly a week ago is expected to lift on Sunday, ending what so far has been the winter’s harshest cold spell.

The low temperature of 44 degrees below zero at the Fairbanks International Airport on Friday morning was the lowest temperature this late in the winter since 1964, according to meteorologist Rick Thoman with the National Weather Service in Fairbanks.

It marked the second straight day with a low temperature of 40 below or colder and the fifth day in a row the low was at least 35 below.

But there is light shining through the ice fog.

“(Saturday) should be the last cold night,” Thoman said.

Clouds are expected to move into the Tanana Valley sometime Sunday, which will push temperatures up, and residents may even see what has been a rare sight this winter — some snow.

“We’re going to get some clouds in and probably a little bit of snow Sunday night or Monday,” Thoman said. “It will probably be less than an inch. It’s certainly not going to be a major dump.”

The temperature on Monday should rise above zero before dropping down again on Tuesday, though it won’t be quite as cold as it has been the past week, he said.

“We could well go into a pattern where highs are near zero and the lows are near 30 below,” he said.

Such variations in temperature are not uncommon at this time of year when the sun is rising higher each day. Even if the temperature drops to 40 below at night, it will rise 20 or 30 degrees by late afternoon before dropping again with the sun, as it has the past week, said Thoman, noting that the amount of daylight is almost up to 9 1/2 hours a day.

“If you’re going to have a cold snap, this is the time of year to have it,” he said. “It’s cold in the morning but it warms up during the day.

“If this was January we would have had lows of 45 or 50 below and highs of 40 to 45 below,” he said. “We’ve got enough sun now that the highs have been in the teens below.”

For example, the low temperature of 44 below on Friday morning matched the previous cold temperature for the winter on Jan. 9. The high on that day was 38 below, Thoman said, while the temperature on Friday had risen to 15 below by 4 p.m. and was still climbing.

“Only in Fairbanks is a high of 15 below and a low of 40 below considered a beautiful day,” he said.

The meteorological rule of thumb, Thoman said, is that if the sun is not at least 5 degrees above the horizon there is no heat gained by it.

“In Fairbanks that works out about a month on each side of the (Dec. 21) solstice,” he said. “We’re way past that.”

Temperatures at higher elevations haven’t been as cold as those on the valley floor, either, Thoman said. Low temperatures in the hills this past week bottomed out at about 25 below.

Temperatures colder than 50 below were reported in several spots around the Interior on Friday morning and similar temperatures were expected this morning.

The coldest temperature was 63 below at O’Brien Creek on the Yukon Quest Trail about 30 miles west of Eagle on the Taylor Highway. The low temperature in downtown Eagle was 56 below, the same temperature that was reported in Fort Yukon.

Other spots reporting 50 below temperatures were Chandalar Lake (54 below), Central (51), Circle Hot Springs (51), and Northway (51). North Pole just missed hitting the 50 below mark with a low of 49 below Friday.

Any snow would be appreciated by skiers, snowmachiners and others. With only 23.8 inches of snow through Thursday, this winter ranks ninth on the list for least amount of snow, Thoman said. This winter’s total snowfall is about 30 inches below normal.
http://newsminer.com/2007/02/24/5477/

shattered
02-24-2007, 08:19 PM
Well, goody.. We've already got almost a foot of snow, and we should have another 2' (yes, that's feet - not inches) of snow by 3pm tomorrow.. Combine that with your temps, and we should really have a blast.

stephanie
02-24-2007, 08:27 PM
Well, goody.. We've already got almost a foot of snow, and we should have another 2' (yes, that's feet - not inches) of snow by 3pm tomorrow.. Combine that with your temps, and we should really have a blast.

That's a lot of snow, my dear....Soon your going to need to own a plow...:cheers2:

jackass
02-24-2007, 08:41 PM
Well, goody.. We've already got almost a foot of snow, and we should have another 2' (yes, that's feet - not inches) of snow by 3pm tomorrow.. Combine that with your temps, and we should really have a blast.

Where are you located Shattered?

shattered
02-24-2007, 08:55 PM
The land of http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v64/mmlnt/cheese.jpg and http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v64/mmlnt/millerbeer.jpg...

jackass
02-24-2007, 09:00 PM
Gotcha! :)

dan
02-25-2007, 03:33 AM
Just to let you know, I was wearing shorts today. Mid-70's with a nice breeze.:cool:

stephanie
02-25-2007, 03:43 AM
Just to let you know, I was wearing shorts today. Mid-70's with a nice breeze.:cool:
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m268/alaskamomma/facepull-vi.gif

sitting in my long johns, two pairs of socks....
Threw a oil filled space heater under the crawl space to try and keep the water pipes from freezing...

:laugh2:

Sitarro
02-25-2007, 04:35 AM
It was 79 degrees the other day here, I actually sweated. I have the air conditioner on to be able to sleep comfortably. The forecast is 70 today with 76 on Monday and Tuesday, it will drop down to 70 for the rest of the week....must be a cold front.:laugh2:

stephanie
02-25-2007, 04:43 AM
It was 79 degrees the other day here, I actually sweated. I have the air conditioner on to be able to sleep comfortably. The forecast is 70 today with 76 on Monday and Tuesday, it will drop down to 70 for the rest of the week....must be a cold front.:laugh2:

Sitting in my long johns, two pairs of socks..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m268/alaskamomma/hillwiggle.gif

:fu: :beer: :laugh2:

jackass
02-25-2007, 08:30 AM
Just to let you know, I was wearing shorts today. Mid-70's with a nice breeze.:cool:

Same here. Wasnt it a great day on Thursday Dan??

remie
02-25-2007, 11:00 AM
Well, goody.. We've already got almost a foot of snow, and we should have another 2' (yes, that's feet - not inches) of snow by 3pm tomorrow.. Combine that with your temps, and we should really have a blast.

Dont you just hate all this global warming