 |
| 1200 UTC Surface Analysis courtesy of Environment Canada |
An interesting wind situation has prevailed in the past day over the Fairbanks area, with widespread northeast winds right down to the valley floor. The average wind at the Fairbanks Airport on Wednesday was 14.1 mph. This is most unusual this time of year for a northeast wind event: persistent winds this strong in winter typically occur with southwest flow following a frontal passage. The surface analysis for 4am ADT Thursday from Environment Canada shows the 1039bm high over the Brooks Range, with a decent, though not extreme pressure gradient over Interior Alaska. The winds Thursday morning have slacked in some valley areas, allowing temperatures to fall smartly: down to 11 below at Woodsmoke near North Pole and 4 below at Fort Wainwright and Fairbanks International. However, one of the usual cold spots,
Goldstream Creek, had puffs of wind all night. The temperature dipped to 2 below about 3am, then was back up to 7 above by 730am.
