Category: Skywatch Almanac Weather | Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium's Blog

April Weather

Posted: March 31, 2021| Category: Skywatch Almanac Weather

You could say that April is a case of the “heart is willing, but the weather isn’t able”. We want spring, but the weather’s agenda will not be swayed. It does include some “spring” interludes as the Sun strengthens, turning a frosty morning into a splendid afternoon. However, should clouds… Read More

March Weather

Posted: March 2, 2021| Category: Skywatch Almanac Weather

Winter’s reign is at an end, but most years will not see it go quietly. The sun is as strong as that of September, while the remnants of arctic cold linger across Canada. Should they collide in just the right fashion with mild spring rains heading north, winter recaptures its… Read More

February Weather

Posted: February 1, 2021| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Skywatch Almanac Weather, What's Happening

We are now entering the second half of winter, which has a very different character. There is still a tremendous capacity for snow and cold, so it is not surprising that February holds the record for the snowiest month in many places, as well as the coldest. Yet the sun… Read More

January Weather

Posted: December 31, 2020| Category: Skywatch Almanac Weather

While the January Thaw may be thought of as a staple of our weather, January rarely fails to deliver the most consistently cold weather of the year. Following the shortest daylight of the year, the lengthening days are hardly enough to off-set the polar region’s continual loss of heat, helping… Read More

December Weather

Posted: December 1, 2020| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Skywatch Almanac Weather

The darkest days of the year are not helped by the fact that they are also the cloudiest. This darkness is complete across the arctic regions, and nearly so in the sub-arctic, providing an increasing source of cold air that causes the average temperatures to drop nearly 15 degrees, and… Read More

November Weather

Posted: November 2, 2020| Category: Skywatch Almanac Weather

November’s beauty is an acquired taste. After all, it would not be possible to compare it side-by-side with the foliage of October, nor of the post-card scenes of December. November’s attributes are more subtle as it truly is the transition month between fall and winter. Only the bronze of beech… Read More

October Weather

Posted: October 5, 2020| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Mark Breen, Skywatch Almanac Weather, Weather

Autumn’s stumbling progression is the very essence of October. There are moments still of grace and reprieve, enough that a true optimist might still hope beyond hope that the frost will wait another month. There are days of dark, laden skies, the clouds like a cloak that weighs us down… Read More

September Weather

Posted: September 3, 2020| Categories: Eye on the Sky, Fairbanks Museum, Skywatch Almanac Weather

When the calendar flips to September, we expect change, though we are not always ready to accept it. The key to all of the changes in September is the loss of daylight hours, amounting to 90 minutes or so. The longer nights and shorter days set the stage for cooler… Read More

August Weather

Posted: August 3, 2020| Categories: Fairbanks Museum, Mark Breen, Skywatch Almanac Weather, Weather

Although summer continues to reign in August, one does not have to look hard to find signs of impending change. Most Augusts start every bit as hot as July, most notably that of 1909, when the temperature soared to 100 on the 8th. In fact the entire continent has warmed… Read More

July Weather

Posted: July 1, 2020| Categories: Fairbanks Museum, Mark Breen, Skywatch Almanac Weather, Weather

Summer finds itself more at home this month than in any other. The temperatures reach their annual maximum during the last week of this month, even though the Sun reached its greatest strength on the first day of summer. It takes the Earth a while to heat up, which in… Read More