Forecast for Alaska temperature difference from normal on Saturday. (WeatherBell.com)

No matter where one goes in town, everyone is talking about the weather. It’s hot. For Fairbanks, Alaska… it’s damn hot. Very few people are thrilled with it either.

Fairbanks is virtually assured that this month of December will be the warmest on record.

Fairbanks weather data through Dec. 19. National Weather Service

Every day this month, we have seen temperatures above normal. Throw out the first two days of the month, and we have been well above normal.

It hasn’t just been Fairbanks either, this has been statewide, which is saying something. Alaska is not a small state. On December 8, Juneau hit 54 degrees, which was warmer than Houston, Texas.
In the middle of the month, Anchorage saw 4 straight days of 45 degrees or higher, which was also a record.
Eagle, Alaska on the Yukon has been 23.5 degrees above normal for the month. Kotzebue, on the west coast, has tied record highs.

In Utqiaġvi, the community formerly known as Barrow, 74 out of the last 79 days have been above normal in temperature.

Big, red blob over Alaska; big, blue, hunk of cold over midwest (Wetherbell.com)

This weather pattern is freaky, even considering recent winters. It’s just too warm for us. The roads are a slick mess, and they will remain so all winter if we don’t go below zero. The rivers are often used as highways between villages, but they have not developed enough ice for travel. In spite of open windows, I still have been letting the fire go out for much of the day.

This is ridiculous. The Big Island of Hawaii not only is getting more snow on it’s peak, but temps there are colder than Anchorage. We want our winter back.