Weather forecasters expected Fairbanks, Alaska to get cold, but not this cold.
Temperatures in Fairbanks hit -51 degrees Fahrenheit Wednesday. That’s much colder than forecasts predicted.
Air flowing from the Arctic combined with calm winds and clear skies to create the perfect conditions for a deep freeze. Forecasters didn’t predict Alaska’s interior regions would get as cold as this.
Dr. Ryan Maue, a meteorologist at WeatherBell Analytics, noted:
The “minus-50¬∞F” watch in Fairbanks, Alaska is over!
At 10:53 AM local time temperature was -51¬∞F h/t @Climatologist49 pic.twitter.com/uO54FvJcAa— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) January 18, 2017
Source: Dr. Ryan Maue, WeatherBell Analytics
The National Weather Service issued special statements Wednesday morning for Alaska’s interior warning of temperatures ranging from 40 to 50 degrees below zero. Temperatures in the hills and coasts would be slightly warming — -20 degrees.
Alaska Dispatch News reported temperatures were “47 below in Fairbanks, 49 below at Fort Wainwright, 51 below at Eielson Air Force Base and Nenana, and 54 below in Tanana. In the east, lows ranged from 44 below in Ambler and Shungnak to 45 below in Galena, 47 below in Kaltag and 51 below in McGrath, Huslia and Nikolai.”
And this isn’t even the coldest it’s gotten in Alaska.
Shockingly — it can and does get a LOT colder in Fairbanks, Alaska than 50¬∞ below zero (F)
January record lows in -60s! @Climatologist49 pic.twitter.com/VzL9jD5yTs— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) January 18, 2017
