The anniversary of the first truck to travel the Alaska Highway was on Saturday, 20 November. The truck was the first to drive from Dawson to Whitehorse, and then from Whitehorse to Fairbanks. In 1942, that must have been one chilly ride.
In 1948, The Alaska Highway Guide was published, which listed the scant accommodations and services along the route. The Milepost, which today is the bible of Al-Can travel, would be published for the first time in 1949.
With the Alaska Nanooks on their second consecutive week off, we dip into the archives for our hockey fix. I’m guessing this was the championship game of the 1936 Winter Carnival tournament. 1936 would have been the second annual winter carnival. Fairbanks won the game, although no score, or photog credit was given.
As forecast, a Chinook blew into Interior Alaska this past weekend, driving temps in Fairbanks up into the 40’s. It was +44F at 8am in the valley on Sunday morning. The average high on Halloween is +18F. Also, as expected, our dusting of snow became a few patches of white.
Further south in Alaska: The NWS station in Girdwood at Alyeska recorded 9.5″ of rain in a 24 hour period. Nearby Porter Glacier Visitor Center recorded 10.34″ of rain on Saturday. It is the first 10+ inch precipitation event in 24 hours in Alaska since 2012. The storm total at Portage Glacier was 17.72″, as of Sunday evening. The epicenter for this event is Mount Baker, which is just 75 miles east of Anchorage, but 13,000 feet higher. The forecast for the slopes of Mount Baker “Snow could be heavy at times”. SATURDAY AFTERNOON: 29-35″; SATURDAY NIGHT-SUNDAY MORNING: 108-114″ Possible; SUNDAY AFTERNOON: 82-88″; SUNDAY NIGHT: 100% Chance of Snow, Heavy At Times.
Heli-skiing anyone?
Between 1930 and 2015, Fairbanks had a total of five Halloweens with less than an inch of snow on the ground. Counting this year, we have had five years since 2015 with less than an inch of snow on the ground. Currently, we have a dusting, and with 40F degrees forecast for Halloween Weekend, the odds are in favor of a brown Halloween for 2021.
It’s tire changeover time in the northern half of Alaska. Studded tires can now be put on the vehicles, as of September 16th. Remember, if you procrastinate, the lines at the tire shop only get longer.
Think it’s too early to put on the set of Blizzaks?
This is an image from Hatcher Pass on Thursday, which is in the southern half of the state, and must remain stud-free until October 1.
Wildfires within Alaska burned less than half the usual acreage in 2020, which is not really a surprise with an unusually wet summer.
Fairbanks had its 12th warmest and 20th wettest summer in the past 90 years.
Anchorage saw its 23rd warmest and 28th wettest in the past 70 years.
Juneau had its 10th warmest and 15th wettest in the past 81 years.
The western coast of Alaska was just plain wet.
Bristol Bay had some very rough seas during the fishing season, but that didn’t keep them from setting a record year for sockeye salmon.
The Yukon River drainage had no salmon in 2020. No chums. No kings. Nada. The entire fishery was closed.
One bright spot was the amount of sea ice in the Chukchi Sea in August. It was the most we have seen in 15 years.
Denali National Park has already seen 6″ of the white stuff.
Fairbanks has already seen frost.
Film Friday:
The Yukon River mail run, leaving Eagle, Alaska around 1906. Currently, only media mail still travels this way within the state.
