National Weather Service Raw Text Product

957 
NOAK49 PAFG 131158
PNSAFG
AKZ222-140000-

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
258 AM AKST TUE DEC 13 2011

...VERY WARM START TO DECEMBER AT FAIRBANKS...
...SNOWFALL A BIT ABOVE NORMAL...

THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE SO FAR THIS MONTH AT THE FAIRBANKS
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS 15.7 DEGREES...WHICH IS 19.3 DEGREES
ABOVE NORMAL. IT HAS BEEN THE WARMEST DECEMBER (MONTH TO DATE)
SINCE 1972...AND RANKS ONLY BEHIND 1972 AS THE WARMEST START TO
THE MONTH OF DECEMBER ON RECORD.

THERE HAVE BEEN 5 DAYS THIS MONTH WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 30
DEGREES OR WARMER...INCLUDING A HIGH OF 47 ON THE 4TH. THIS IS THE
GREATEST NUMBER OF DAYS WITH A HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 30 DEGREES OR
WARMER MONTH TO DATE SINCE 1963.

THE LOW TEMPERATURE HAS ONLY DROPPED BELOW ZERO ON 4 DAYS SO FAR
THIS MONTH...WITH THE COLDEST TEMPERATURE SO FAR THIS MONTH OF 12
BELOW ON THE 6TH. THIS IS THE FEWEST NUMBER OF DAYS WHEN THE
TEMPERATURE FAILED TO FALL BELOW ZERO SINCE 2002. 

TWO NEW RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURE RECORDS HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED
THIS MONTH. ON THE 4TH...THE LOW TEMPERATURE OF 26 ABOVE WAS THE
WARMEST LOW TEMPERATURE EVER OBSERVED ON DECEMBER 4TH. THE OLD
RECORD OF 22 ABOVE WAS FROM 1934. YESTERDAY...DECEMBER 12TH...THE
LOW OF 23 ABOVE WAS ALSO A RECORD WARM LOW TEMPERATURE. THE OLD
RECORD OF 21 DEGREES WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1940.

TO GIVE SOME MORE PERSPECTIVE TO THE RECENT WARM WEATHER.  THE
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 15.7 DEGREES SO FAR THIS MONTH IS 45.8
DEGREES WARMER THAN THE BITTERLY COLD WEEK BEFORE THANKSGIVING
WHEN THE AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 15-21 WAS
30.1 BELOW ZERO.

A TOTAL OF 5.8 INCHES OF SNOW HAS BEEN OBSERVED AT THE AIRPORT SO
FAR THIS MONTH...WHICH IS 1.2 INCHES ABOVE AVERAGE MONTH TO DATE. 

THE NORMAL HIGH THIS TIME OF YEAR AT FAIRBANKS IS 6 ABOVE...WITH
A NORMAL LOW OF 12 BELOW.

$$

CB