16 February 2014

Howard Pass Wind Chill Reaches -97°, Breaks Alaska Record

Fun weather fact for the record books: Alaska hit its all-time lowest recorded wind chill on Friday. 

At 3:39 p.m., sensors at Howard Pass in the Brooks Range picked up a wind chill of minus 97 degrees Fahrenheit. That's calculated from a recorded temperature of minus 42 degrees and a sustained northern wind of 71 mph. A gust also was recorded at 78 mph. 

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A search dog in training made what her handler described as an unexpected rescue this week, possibly averting an exposure-related injury near an Anchorage trail.

Echo, a 3-year-old mixed-breed husky from Bethel, has spent the last two years training with the Backcountry Alaska Rescue K-9 team, or BARK-9. The team trains dogs for wilderness search and avalanche rescue.
Echo, a search and rescue dog in training, with her handler Jayme Schroeder. The pair made an unexpected rescue early Wednesday morning, February 12, 2014 near the University Lake dog park.

Her handler, Jayme Schroeder, 26, works the night shift as a pediatric nurse at Alaska Native Medical Center. ... At night, if he can, he leaves work and takes Echo through the University Lake dog park near the medical center. Around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, the two set out on the loop trail. It was about zero degrees.

Schroeder noticed that Echo was acting funny. She kept smelling something and Schroeder wondered if a moose was nearby.

She ran ahead on the trail, which wasn't unusual. But then she came back and barked -- something she only does for search practice.

"Show me," Schroeder told her, and she sprinted ahead.

Echo led Schroeder to a man lying spread-eagled on his back just off the trail. At first Schroeder thought the man was dead. He appeared to be in his mid-30s and was wearing jeans, a T-shirt and an unzipped jacket, Schroeder said. He was wearing just one shoe.

Read the rest at the link.

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And finally, there's this:

A moose comes face to face with a sculpture hanging from a birch tree as it was browsing on the tree just off of Wisconsin Street in west Anchorage on Saturday, February 15, 2014. BOB HALLINEN — Anchorage Daily News

12 comments:

PioneerPreppy said...

I am surprised we didn't have any random frozen bodies around here during the cold snap we had. We don't have any trained dogs like that though around here the dogs would prolly just hike a leg on a frozen body.

Well Seasoned Fool said...

Don't know the wind chill temperature, but it was -61F 2/1/85 in Maybell, CO.

Rev. Paul said...

LOL!

Rev. Paul said...

Understood, WSF. The coldest air temp measured up here was -85° or so at Trapper Creek, about 12 years ago. But there wasn't any wind that day.

threecollie said...

Good dog! Bad wind!

Rev. Paul said...

I believe you nailed it, ma'am. :)

drjim said...

-85 on the thermometer? With no wind chill??

YOW!

Coldest I've ever been in was about -45 one February in Montana.

Rev. Paul said...

It got even colder at a state park near Tok three years ago, but it wasn't an "official" reading, so it didn't count.

Sunnybrook Farm said...

I tell you what if it wasn't for global warming, it would have been really cold this year!

denimflyz said...

Boy, I can hardly wait until the *real* global warming comes.

Rev. Paul said...

ROFL!

Rev. Paul said...

If that happens, the Alaskan outfitters will need to greatly increase their inventories!