Annual review...

Well not exactly, but with the cold weather, it's been well below zero and only managed one dog run in the past week or so, thought it might be interesting to look at some weather stuff.

(Alaska Climate Research Center)

While we didn't set any records, last year was the sixth warmest on record. The only serious cold weather occurred in Jan. when it got down to -33 ° F. While this may seem cold, it was the first time in many years that it didn't hit -40, the benchmark up here for judging cold weather.

So here's how the really cold spells look:

It should be apparent to anyone who's not a TRump supporter that there's something going on here. There were 17 cold weather events from the 1930's to the mid '70's, then only four since then. The other striking thing is that we haven't had any fifty below weather either, not that I'm complaining. From my perspective, something is changing the jet stream, so that high pressure systems, which used to form over Alaska and produce the deep cold, no longer dominate the winter weather here. The most likely cause would be changes in oceanic circulation caused by global warming. But that's just me flapping my gums, not any real expert opinion. You can read more about it here:  http://www.newsminer.com/alaska_energy_desk/fairbanks-famously-severe-cold-snaps-are-getting-less-cold-and/article_a9e6c136-146e-11e9-86e5-8f6e902f0a47 .html
Finally, here's another sunset. If there's one thing you can do at this time of year, it's get good photos in the clear, cold weather .