Winter in Alaska (part 1 of...)

Alaska is a pretty unique place year-round. I mean, the fact that the sun is up past bedtime for like 4 straight months in the summer takes some getting used to. But most people can deal with the idea of some extra sunshine and that’s why it’s the winter in Alaska that really sets the place apart. Since I mentioned daylight already, lets start there.

Sunrise today was at 10:08 AM and sunset will be at 3:40 PM. During the 5 hours, 32 minutes and 4 seconds that the sun will be in the sky*, it will make it 5.7° above the horizon. This means that at noon a 5’9” tall person will have a shadow 57 feet long, and that to get out of the shadow of a 50 foot tall tree you would have to stand over 500 feet from its base. Given that there are plenty of trees everywhere, this means that at ground level there is basically no such thing as direct sunlight. The good news here is that we’re not missing much. Sunny conditions this time of year produce up to about 15 W/m2 of solar radiation, compared to nearly 500 W/m2 in a place like Washington, DC. But then again, don’t forget how reflective snow is. With snow on the ground you can actually see in the woods at night and during the day it can be positively blinding. And we’ve got that going for almost 5 more months.

high noon in the Alaskan winter

So it’s dark and it’s snowy, but what’s it like outside? Well, here’s the current 7-day forecast for Anchorage:

You’ll notice that there’s no snow in the forecast – at least falling snow, since the blowing and drifting varieties make a couple of appearances – which isn’t that atypical. We’re on the dry side of the mountains here in Anchorage, with an average annual snowfall of about 70”, spread out over about 6 months. Not that were a desert, but that averages out to the equivalent of around 1” of water a month.

You’ll also see that while the current temperatures are typical – right around the mid-teens – we’re expecting a shot of arctic air tonight through the weekend. Those high temperatures as low as -10° tomorrow are going to be no fun at all. And Bella might have to learn to walk herself if it’s -15° outside the next couple of nights.

So that’s what it’s like here in the winter. Sounds miserable, right? Well, it is and it isn’t. In the next couple of posts I’ll try to explain what its like to live here and why its not actually all that bad.