(1) So the last week has been (apparently) unseasonably warm here in Fairbanks. That being said, the last two days we have woken up to 32 [deg F] temperatures. Even though the mornings are crisp, the daytime temperatures have been reaching 70 [deg F]. The long term forecast has us going into the 20’s next week with highs of 50 [F]. It is going to get cold fast.
(2) Since arriving, I have seen two nights of fantastic auroral shows. They are apparently small displays for this region, but already both have been more intense than anything I had ever seen in Minnesota. The filaments stretch straight down over our road while smaller curtains dance over our home. Someday when I can afford a better camera I will post pictures.
(3) Every day is different. These warm temperatures have also brought really clear skies. Every day I go in to work and have to stop and look south to the Alaska range. Every day we lose almost 7 minutes of daylight, and the Sun at noon subtends an angle of about 1.5 [deg] less in the sky. Every morning the range is struck by a different angle of light and it never gets boring to watch.
The Alaska Range stretches across the entire southern horizon. It also blocks any warm air that might think about moving in from the southern coast in the winter. I can’t wait.
(4) We have lived here less than 1 month, and the day is already 3 hrs. and 8 min. shorter than it was when we arrived. We have another 11 days of having more daylight than New Hampshire does. It is getting noticeably harder to wake in the morning (although this might be exhaustion from work and classes.
