Balmy Fairbanks
It's nice to know they got a thaw in Alaska this January. A really really BIG thaw!
Last week when we shivered in -22 air here in the metro, it was 52 ABOVE in Fairbanks. In fact they had 4 straight days above 44 degrees, while we are begging for a January thaw in these parts.
In one of the quirks of our atmosphere, it turns out that it's usually warm in Alaska when it's cold in Minnesota in winter. It's because the jet stream has a "long wave" pattern that spaces waves in such a way as to put Minnesota under a cold arctic trough and Alaska under a warm ridge at the same time. It's nice to know they will have been 20 degrees warmer in Fairbanks this month than we are in the Twin Cities.
Stay warm as arctic winds blow this weekend. Temperatures will begin to moderate next Tuesday.
PH
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