Basketball is THE sport in remote Alaska. Many teams have not traveled to games since early 2020. Dillingham, with The Sockeye Classic, was one of the first communities to host teams for a tournament at the end of January 2022.
Weather threatened to keep the teams from Togiak from traveling to Dillingham. High winds kept any planes on the ground, and there are no roads connecting the network of communities around Bristol Bay. The student athletes, parents and teachers agreed to get together some snowmachines, and travel the 80 miles across the tundra to the tournament.
The trip took six hours instead of the expected four, and one sled broke down along the route, but the trekkers made it to Dillingham and were able to finally play against someone other than themselves in over two years.
Delta Junction is a town that lies approximately 90 miles east of Fairbanks. The northern end of the Alaska Highway is at Delta Junction.
Many would be surprised to hear that of all towns in the United States, Delta Junction has the highest percentage of Ukrainians. 16.4% of residents were born in Ukraine, and an even higher percentage have Ukrainian ancestry.
I have quite a few customers coming in from Delta Junction, and there have been a lot of very concerned people from Delta.
My welcoming committee when I arrived home the other night. Her calf was on the other side of me, blockading the trail to the cabin. Neither moose was in an accommodating mood.
On Sunday morning, it was -22F at the cabin, and just a few days before, it was at -31 when I went to work. The temperature has been rising throughout the day, and it looks to be a warm week for us, with temps forecast at above freezing.
As often happens, when temps rise in Alaska during the winter months, temps can cool a bit down in the Lower 48. Although, that’s not to say they will be seeing too many -31F’s.
Graphic credit: ACCAP, UAF; Data credit: NOAA, NCEI
Over the past five decades, Alaska has seen a substantial increase in precipitation. The Southeast & South-Central part of the state has seen only single digit increases, which is probably a good thing considering much of that area is a rain forest.
Interior Alaska has seen a 12% increase in precipitation. I can’t say I’m surprised by that, as we definitely seem to be getting more snow during the winter. With a warming trend, we were bound to see more snowfall.
In the winter of 1974, the Concorde went through cold weather testing in Fairbanks.
Since WWII, Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier, Cessna, Eurocopter, General Electric, Gulfstream, Honeywell, Sikorsky and many other aircraft companies have tested in Fairbanks. With an 11.800 foot runway, which can handle any aircraft, an airport that rarely features a delay, and plenty of wide open air space, Fairbanks is ideal when the temp drops to -40.
It wouldn’t be a photo op in Fairbanks without a team of dogs
