Hey winter aficionados,
Noteworthy weather continues in Alaska.
Yesterday offered a choice: A blizzard in the Gulf of Alaska or the --49C/56F obs with wind (!) on the north coast.
The surface plot from the NCAR/RAP weather page tells both stories. Temperatures shown are in degrees F.
Today's
plot reveals that the deep low has injected mild maritime air deep into
the Alaskan interior. This has created a remarkable thermal gradient
maximized at the warm front that is approaching Fairbanks (AFA on the
plot with -10F = -23C). A temperature rise of 20-25 C within a couple of
hours seems possible there if the shallow cold air mixes out or is
otherwise bodily ejected. To the southeast of Fairbanks Delta
Junction (ABI) is currently gusting 50kts from the south at +2 C.
Needless to say, the lower-48 United States remains safe from such excitement for the time being.
Regards,
Anton
