Back to winter...

After one of the warmest Octobers on record, the snow and colder weather have returned. The best part, I guess,  if there is a best part, is that it prompted me to get going and head outside, fire up the tractor, and plow the road and driveway. It's the first useful thing I've done since the knee procedure. Great fun.

Now the sun barely clears the sauna roof at noon time. Soon it'll barely clear the horizon.

Here's the October summary, courtesy of UAF's geophysical institute (http://akclimate.org/Summary/Statewide/2015/Oct):
Temperatures were decidedly above normal this October across the state. The monthly mean temperature 37.5°F, a significant 5.5°F above the normal of 32.0°F. This is 5.2°F above the October 2014 mean of 32.3°F. Temperatures were above normal for all 19 reporting stations. Only one day of the month (the 1st) was below normal. The peak warm deviation, an extreme 10.9°F, occurred on the 27th, while the coldest deviation of ‑3.6°F occurred on the 1st. October was slightly dryer than usual;  the statewide precipitation was 4% below normal.