Added: 04/22/2006 |
Be prepared for the wide variations in Alaska temperaturesWhen planning vacations, most travelers are often unaware of the weather and temperatures in Alaska. In this case they should know that great temperature fluctuations here do not only depend on a season, but on a region of the state as well. A "Normal" tourist season starts at the end of May or early June, initiated by many attractions opening at that time. However, you can easily find something exciting to do at any other season of the year. Some popular activities, like the international ice-carving festival in Fairbanks, the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous or the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, snowmobiling and viewing the Northern Lights take place during the spring, fall or even winter.
The fact that the majority of the tourists visit Alaska from May to June is easily explained. Sunny, clear skies and not-too-cold conditions seem to be very appealing for those, who are not used to the Alaska climate. Thus, the late spring or early summer is the best bet for them. During the summer, the weather in the North is as variable and unpredictable as anywhere else. Get prepared for both hot, sunny days and cold, rainy days. From the midsummer into the fall clouds predominate and are quickly followed by an increase in precipitation. By the winter the weather is likely, but it often turns rather cold if not downright frigid, depending on what part of the state you are visiting. Outbreaks of an extreme cold and blizzard-like weather do not occur as frequently as you might think, but they occur.
Again, Alaska is a huge state (586,400 square miles make Alaska more than twice the size of Texas), and conditions differ significantly, from the rain forests of the southeastern coast to the cold, relatively dry Arctic. The cloudiest place in Alaska, the Cold Bay, is averaging three hundred and four overcast days a year. The guidance for sun parishioners is to visit Bettles with normal of one hundred and seventy eight sunny (or at least partly sunny) days annually.
Alaska temperatures during the summer range from 60°F-80°F. Nighttime and early mornings are cooler, from 40's - 50's. An early arrival of the fall in late August/ September results in cooler Alaska temperatures and slightly fewer hours of sunlight. Usually, the Interior Region of Alaska enjoys warm summers. Ft. Yukon holds the state's high temperature record: 100 F in June, 1915. Fairbanks often has summer temperatures in 80s and occasionally gets up into 90s. The lowest Alaska temperatures record belongs to The Northern Interior (along Brooks Range), where the mercury fell to -79.8° F (-62° C) at Prospect Creek in 1971.
Snowfalls vary from one part of the state to another like temperatures. One of the snowiest places, Thompson Pass, was recording 346 inches during February, 1964. In contrast, much of the Arctic zone is actually a cold desert. Barrow, for instance, recorded only 1.61 inches of precipitation all year back in 1935.
Along with the extensive dissimilarities in the climate and Alaska temperatures, visitors have a chance to experience an unusual length of daylight during the late spring and early summer. A trip to the Arctic north can even give you a glimpse of the midnight sun. A glance at the clear skies to the north and you will be hypnotized with the beauty of aurora borealis (northern lights). Not without reason the late artist Bob Ross used to often say, "God had a good day, when he made Alaska."
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