The Alaskan Winter That Never Was?

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I had heard it was warm in Alaska, but holy moly, I didn’t know it was THIS warm. Above is an anomaly map showing the Drunken Arctic Air in central and eastern Canada and the US in contrast with the very (relatively) warm air over western Canada and Alaska. Remember, these are anomalies, not absolute temperatures. But still, it is warm enough in at least parts of Alaska that lakes that are normally well frozen by now are not frozen at all and may not even freeze this winter.

Here are photographs taken by A.M.Mueller on January 25th 2014 in Skilak Lake, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and passed on for posting, with some commentary.

Alaska Kenai Peninsula, January, -- 60F, at least in the sun … in the 50s without sun. Super warm for weeks on end.
Alaska Kenai Peninsula, January, — 60F, at least in the sun … in the 50s without sun. Super warm for weeks on end.
“Normally” this is covered in snow and Skilak Lake is frozen. The lake is still completely open and may not freeze at all this winter.
“Normally” this is covered in snow and Skilak Lake is frozen. The lake is still completely open and may not freeze at all this winter.
The clouds were quite a sight too ….
The clouds were quite a sight too ….
More clouds and open water.
More clouds and open water.

Meanwhile, it is so cold here in Minnesota that we could not go outside and play in the snow. So we brought some of the snow inside:

P1010097

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13 thoughts on “The Alaskan Winter That Never Was?

  1. Get used to it. We all know this is a terraforming / climate-engineering campaign to open up the northwest passage and Arctic oil. Lol

    Drill, baby Drill!

    It’s one of the wackier things I’ve run into online, worth a chuckle 😉

  2. For the last two weeks it’s been above freezing essentially everywhere south of the Arctic Circle. This is the normal pattern when the jet stream loops south over the eastern half of the continent. It looks like we can expect at least another week of it. People are starting to worry about the big dogsled races next month.

  3. Only God alone controls the weather. He is trying to get our attention, but obviously not ALOT are listening….

  4. Kathy @#7, I’m not sure who or what God might be. What I do know is that we have met the enemy and it is us (thanks Pogo!). We are pumping crud into our air which is changing the climate. It is particulate and it is CO2. It better stop soon or we’re all toast, perhaps literally.

  5. What do you think God wants, anyway? Has He got some tablets for us? Or maybe it’s another book? I’m curious because it’s been a couple of thousand years since we’ve heard from him, and I assumed he had moved on.

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