October Continues...

49° and 45 mph winds. So tell me why we're having October weather in mid-December, again? I want my snow back!

Pro tip: Alaskans do NOT like warm, rainy weather in December.

Sad News

Anchorage, despite its size - and trust me, 330,000 people is a lot when the entire State's population is only 710,000 - has not a lot of "big city" crime.

 

Sure there are muggings, break-ins, and car thefts, but those can happen most anywhere. But it doesn't often see headlines like the one this morning:

 

BREAKING: 2 dead, 17 sent to hospital with 'moderate to severe' injuries

A large, fatal fire with multiple victims has dozens of crews on scene in Spenard, according to the Anchorage Fire Department.  

Crews on scene say that 17 people have been sent to the hospital, and two people are confirmed to be dead. AFD says those sent to the hospital have injuries ranging from "moderate to severe." 

Fire crews are still working on the fire. Investigators with AFD remain on the scene, ensuring all hot spots are being put out. 

Units on the scene say investigations into the cause are stalled as the building has still not been declared structurally sound. Due to this, investigators have not been allowed to enter the structure to determine what exactly caused the fire. Witnesses at the scene said they saw people jumping from windows on the third floor.

 

30 34 units responded to the fire, reported as fully engaged (meaning the entire structure was ablaze) by 0230. At 0712 (i.e., now), it's under control, and surrounding streets are reopened.

 

* * * * *

Meanwhile, it's snowing heavily - a wet, slushy snow of a type we don't often get - and there's a winter weather advisory in place. This morning's commute was a real joy.

 

Not.

 

Fortunately, traffic was unusually light, and I only saw one accident - a vehicle on its side - on the way in. But I knew exactly where the warm front was, as I drove. At one point just south of the accident, my windshield was suddenly doused with a heavy load of water (!?!). Twice. And then back to snow again.

 

I've experienced snow/rain mixes in the past, often enough, but never all snow, then all rain for 2 or 3 seconds, and back to snow again. Rinse, repeat.

 

Strange. Anywho, AccuHunch calls for 3" to 6" of this wet, un-fun stuff.

 

All I know is, it would have been a good day to stay home.

Grumble, Grumble

I note with more than passing interest that it's cold, and in some places wicked cold, across much of the Lower 48.

While it should be in single digits here, we also note (with disgust) that it's 45° this morning. This is highly unsat.*

That means the roads will be sloppy this morning, which much skidding, spinning of tires from those 7 drivers in Anchorage who refuse to buy studded tires, and lots of gray muck on the vehicles.

Oh well, we have a coupon for a free car wash. Looks like we'll use it after the running around is done, today.



* That's military shorthand for "unsatisfactory". If the Navy can't shorten it, abbreviate it, or turn it into a TLA (a three-letter acronym for "three-letter acronym"), they won't use it. :)

Three Days

Three days ago, it was -6° F. at this hour. Today it's 38 above. That's 44 degrees warmer than on Tuesday.

The three inches of snow that fell overnight is wet, and slides off the cars with only a little urging.

The frozen roadways, mostly bare during the week of sub-zero temps, are now doing their best impression of a skating rink. The melty snow and sprinkles of rain are turning to icy patches on contact.

The drive to work this morning was sketchy, at best. Later, when the traffic is sufficiently heavy, it could get ugly. Makes me very glad I work such an early shift.


* * * * *

Here's an update on the "Alaskan Bush People" story from yesterday:

A Juneau Superior Court judge has rejected a plea deal that would have allowed stars of the "Alaskan Bush People" series to avoid jail time for Permanent Fund dividend fraud.

[snip] “I don’t think the Browns should be treated more harshly because they have a TV show. … but they certainly shouldn’t be treated more leniently because of that either,” the judge said.

 * * * * *

Today's local newspaper/fishwrapper feature an editorial about Republican lawmakers who are sounding the alarm about letting Syrian refugees into the country. The tone of the op-ed is predictable:

There must be seven or eight Republican politicians in Alaska who haven't shared panic-stricken statements about the Syrian refugee crisis, pretending to know what's really going on.

What's wrong with these slackers? They aren't doing their part to create hysteria or display the depth of their understanding of world events.

 But wait! There's a flag on the play:

Iditarod Start: Is This Seattle?

At start time it was 43° with wind and rain showers. Very strange weather for early March.

The 10.5-mile track through Anchorage was created overnight with stockpiled snow from up in the mountains, and poured/shaped in the rain.

It was melting and slushy before the first teams ever came down the hill.

The conditions were frankly horrible. And that was before the winds kicked up.

But the dogs live to run, and they were having fun despite the weather.

The Wells Fargo Gold Line commemorative gold-carrying sled, which was used in the mining towns from 1911-1918.

The winner of the Jr. Iditarod, who serves as the pace car (so to speak), just ahead of the mushers.

And again

The first musher, Rob Cooke from Whitehorse, YT

Jessie Royer from Darby, MT in her sixth race

Marty Buser, a four-time champion, from Big Lake, AK

But my mom and niece had a great time seeing this in person for the first time. Then we came back home and watched the launch from the starting line, downtown, which I'd recorded while we were along the trail.

Welcome, and This Is Weird

I see that Terra Dactyl has clicked the "Follow" button. Welcome aboard!

* * * * *

So what's the weird part? Mom, my niece and I are going to see the ceremonial start of the Iditarod this morning.

That's not weird, by itself.

The weird part is that I've observed the start when it's bitterly cold (-10° F.), snowing, sunny, slushy ... but never raining and 38° with bare ground and no snow anywhere except for the path built for the mushers and their teams.

This will be different.

Iron Dog Racers Begin in Slush & Muck

Slush Cup Dept:

More like iron ducks than Iron Dogs, the teams of snowmachines racing in what is supposed to be the world's longest, toughest snowmobile race were paddle-tracking their way through the Alaska Range late Sunday afternoon.

Water-covered ice on Big Lake, rather than snow cover. Bill Roth/ADN

Never in the 31-year history of the 2,000-mile epic race had anyone seen anything like this. On a balmy day, racers started at two-minute intervals down a water-covered chute at Big Lake north of Anchorage and then slush-cupped their way north.

[snip]  Snowmachines speeding through wet, heavy glop sprayed slush everywhere. The snow resembled wet cement, and it slowed the early going.

I know most of you have more snow than you know what to do with. We hardly have any at all.


It's Everywhere Dept:

Fairbanks North Star Borough schools are closed Monday because of icy conditions, the district's website said, and all school-related classes are canceled as well because of the freezing rain.

"Interior roads are covered in ice," the DOT wrote on Facebook. "All available trucks are out sanding, but please remember that sand stays on the roads for a limited time."


The DOT also advised that the Parks Highway in the vicinity of Talkeetna had "difficult" driving conditions and black ice Sunday morning, as temperatures hovered around 36 degrees. Rain showers were expected to continue, and temperatures in the area were expected to reach the 40s on Monday, according to the NWS forecast.

It was even raining in the far-flung Western Alaska community of Nome, which was experiencing temperatures above freezing and rain falling Sunday, according to the DOT.
 

 Accidental Shooting Dept: 

A 4-year-old boy from Wasilla was shot through the leg, after his mother's gun fell out of its holster and discharged, Alaska State Troopers wrote in a dispatch, Saturday afternoon. 

At around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, troopers responded to reports of a child with a gunshot wound to the leg, at 4900 E Palmer-Wasilla highway.

Investigations revealed that "as the family was getting out of their pickup truck in the parking lot the mother's .357 magnum revolver fell out of her holster and struck the pavement by the hammer which caused the revolver to discharge a round," troopers wrote.

Troopers wrote that the fired round struck the child "just above the knee then exited his leg and lodged in the trim of the building."

 

Fur Rondy Sled Dog Races Cancelled: No Snow

Fur Rondy sled dog races canceled due to poor trail conditions


The Fur Rendezvous Open World Championship sled dog sprint races are the latest victim of warm weather that has obliterated trail conditions around Southcentral Alaska and in Anchorage, despite the work of volunteers.

Race officials announced the decision to cancel the races Sunday. The races had been scheduled to run in Anchorage from Feb. 27 to March 1, and 20 mushers had signed up for the 2015 competition.

The decision was especially wrenching, said Race Marshal Janet Clarke, because this year's races were especially meaningful due to the Anchorage centennial and because they offered a chance to honor the memory of legendary sprint musher George Attla, who died earlier this month.


[snip] On Saturday, volunteers had been out on the trails in driving rain, trying to cover areas of bare grass, dirt and asphalt with snow. In some areas, asphalt was coated with ice. Just when one section seemed shored up, another would fail.


“Yesterday all of us were doing this in the rain. We simply lost all the ground we had gotten,” Clarke said. “Our trail boss summed it up: We can fill in holes but we can't fill in a whole 10 miles of trail.”

Short Attention Span

I remember when Ronald Reagan said, "I used to be a Democrat, but the Democratic Party left me", and now I wonder how long before conservatives are tempted to say, "I used to be an American, but ..."  It certainly seems as though the inmates are running the asylum, these last few years.

Remember when the will of the people was enough to cause Congress to reverse course on unpopular issues? I miss those days.

I recall instructions in boot camp about how sailors were not obligated to follow an unlawful command. What no one specified, however, was the procedure to follow if we decided that an order or command was indeed unlawful. To whom were we supposed to turn?

I suspect that the average sailor was too used to following orders, after awhile, to give it much thought. That in itself frightens me now, as we contemplate the possibility of a nation-wide repetition of the 'Great Louisiana Gun Grab.' As various members of Congress debate how many bodies they'd be comfortable with, before a lunatic runs out of ammo in his/her first magazine, the State Department proceeds with the U.N.'s treaty to disarm American citizens.

Molon labe, y'all.

Will our military remember that such a thing is unconstitutional, and must not be obeyed? Or will they do as the National Guardsman in Louisiana who said sheepishly, "It made me feel a little weird," but did it anyway?


What I expect would happen, though, is the incremental approach as they begin to disarm individuals and small groups, in isolated areas. Despite the popularity of T-shirts which read, "The Founders would be shooting by now", it's pretty obvious that there won't be any widespread uprising. That leaves individual resistance, unless the level of unconstitutional tyranny gets ratcheted up sharply. Given the progressives' approach, I suspect they'll continue to move just slowly enough to allow the heat to die down before the cross the next "line in the sand".

And while we hear stories about this group or that being raided, the majority will sit back, forgetting the urgency because of their shortened TV/internet attention-deficit. They won't take it seriously until a squad of black-clad soldiers/police (and what's the effective difference, these days?) show up at their front door & turn the house upside down, looking for now-prohibited arms and ammunition.

And then, of course, it will be too late to do anything except stand around, bleating ineffectually.

Don't look to the courts for any help. 

It will fall to the several States to effectively nullify any federal actions in this regard. Remember what Benjamin Franklin said about hanging together?
* * * * *

In local news, we watch gaggles of politicians (State and municipal) debating the sudden need for fiscal conservatism due to budget shortfalls. It would be amusing, if it weren't so serious, how it seems to be an unfamiliar concept to them. They're more interested in pointing fingers at one another, debating whether it's the previous Governor or mayor, or the current ones at fault, all the while talking about which programs need more money. Then they debate, without apparent end, about how many bond issues to place on the next ballot.

It never seems to occur to more than one or two of them that perhaps the issue isn't how many, but whether to place any at all.

I don't want to get depressed, so I'll move on to other things today. The weather is warmish this morning (24 degrees) with scattered areas of dense fog, and we only received about a half-inch of wet snow yesterday. There are probably slick spots, but yesterday afternoon's sunshine melted most of what fell on the roads. There's no snow in the forecast at all, as AccuHunch calls for a warm, rainy period over the next week. 

We could use the snow: the Iditarod's re-start on March 8th has already been moved from Willow to Fairbanks, and the Tustamena 200 on the Kenai Peninsula has been canceled due to lack of snow for the second year in a row.

Oh, well.

Thanks for stopping by, friends. Happy Friday!

Ice Ice Baby

Freezing Rain Advisory

Statement as of 4:33 AM AKST on January 08, 2015

 ...Freezing Rain Advisory remains in effect until noon akst today...

* ice accumulation...less than one tenth of an inch.

* Timing...light freezing rain will begin early this morning and continue through the morning hours then taper off around noon.

* Impacts...travel may be difficult. Be prepared for slippery roads.

The nice cold air was here for a few days, but now temps are heading north again (if you'll pardon the expression) and we're back in the icy/melty/wintry mix.

Dang it.

For those of you who admonished me, last fall, to keep the winter weather up here: you'll have to be meaner to the weatherman than I was. He's ignoring us.

* * * * *

And speaking of cold weather:

For the fourth time, to diminishing fanfare, Lonnie Dupre is trying to do what has never been done: Reach the summit of Mount McKinley, alone, in the supremely inhospitable month of January.

Three previous attempts --  which started in December of 2010, 2011 and 2012  -- ended with the adventurer retreating from the mountain after being pinned down for days in snow trenches, nearly suffocated by blizzards and half-frozen by temperatures of 35 below.

Lonnie Dupre leaves base camp on the Kahiltna Glacier December 18, 2014. He is attempting to climb Denali solo.        John Walter Whittier

While the Lower 48 Freezes ...

Warm weather blanketing Alaska for days now has shattered records, turned plants green and changed the way some people live. 

The temperature hit 62 degrees at Port Alsworth, on Lake Clark, on Monday, tying the highest January temperature ever recorded in the state, the National Weather Service reported.

Nome peaked at 51 degrees, topping the city's warmest January with a temperature typical of early June, forecasters said.

In Anchorage, snow continued melting Tuesday in the latest of 15 consecutive days with temperatures at 32 degrees or above. As of Monday, it was the city's fourth warmest January ever recorded.

Green grass greets motorists along Northern Lights Boulevard just west of C Street on Tuesday, January 28, 2014, outside the Wells Fargo building. ERIK HILL — Anchorage Daily News

We're slowly cooling off again; the weatherman said that we'll lose "one to three degrees each day" over the next several. But even then we'll be 10 degrees warmer than normal, and there's no snow in the forecast.

The Big Melt

From the Anchorage Daily News: A 50-mile stretch of the Richardson Highway outside Valdez will remain closed until at least Monday as crews charged with clearing avalanche debris work to bring down unstable snow in Thompson Pass.

Multiple avalanches early Friday morning blocked the highway, effectively cutting off Valdez by road. The slides measured several hundred feet long and between 30 and 40 feet deep, said Jeremy Woodrow, a state Department of Transportation spokesman.

From the Alaska Dispatch: The Richardson Highway near Valdez is not in good shape, to put it mildly. And that's the problem. Mild weather -- with snow, rain and freezing rain that have plagued Alaska for more than a week -- has brought down at least five avalanches between mile 12 and 64 of the Richardson Highway since Jan. 23. The road will remain closed until Monday, or possibly even Tuesday. 

* * * * *

Race officials called off the Tustumena 200 sled dog race on the Kenai Peninsula on Friday.

The Anchorage Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/1cftNMp ) the run of mild weather and rain wiped out much of the snow in south-central Alaska. Earlier this week, the Northern Lights 300 at Big Lake was also cancelled.

* * * * *

On a personal note, it's 41 degrees here at Casa del Pablo at 9:42 a.m. Not your typical January morning by any means. (The normal high for this date is 23° F.)

One other thing: Older Daughter, the Appleseed instructor finished her first AR-15 build last night. Price came in right at $500. Not bad at all.

Races Cancelled Due to Lack of Snow

Next weekend's Tustumena 200 sled dog race on the Kenai Peninsula and Saturday's high school cross-country ski race at Service High both pulled the plug on Friday.

Victims of a January false breakup, both events were looking at wet trails instead of snowy ones.
Officials of both events didn't their best to stay afloat, as it were. The Tustumena looked at various trail alternatives and the Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage thought it had saved its race by moving it from Kincaid Park to higher elevations, but there is water, water everywhere.

"We just don't have the snow and way too much water in the hills to put together a quality race," Tustumena 200 race director Tami Murray said in an email.

It's 48 degrees. In January. In Alaska.

Sigh ...

Sigh ...

Nothing new to report here. Yesterday day was WAY too warm & sloppy. Today, the slop continues.

It was 36 when I got up at 5:30, and it's up to 42, two hours later. Seriously, this is about the time in January when we typically have one to three weeks of temps at -20° F. or colder.

This whole "sixty degrees too warm" thing is getting to me, it seems. Sorry 'bout the complaining.

Sunset, Friday afternoon

Here's a snippet from the Daily News about the freakish weather:

A band of wet, warm weather barreled into Southcentral Alaska on Friday and stirred up an odd blend of high winds, slushy roads and even rainbow sightings.

Peak gust speeds of more than 90 mph were reported in Bear Valley and at Glen Alps, and gusts elsewhere on the Anchorage Hillside approached 70 mph , according to the National Weather Service.

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson recorded a gust of 67 mph, said Dave Stricklan, a meteorologist with the Anchorage forecast office.

The winds and warm temperatures, which reached 48 degrees in some parts of Anchorage Friday, prompted a series of avalanche warnings to the south. For the first time this season, Department of Transportation crews headed out to reduce avalanche risk by blasting artillery at spots along the Seward Highway.

Dense Fog & a Date That Will Live in Infamy

We had very thick fog, drizzle and 34° this morning. It's lifting a bit now, but the fog made for some interesting driving conditions earlier.

But as the sunrise rolled around, some 25 minutes ago, the temperature fell back to 32°, so the condensation is freezing on the cars again.

I'm about done with this warm weather. Would all y'all mind sending the cold stuff back this way, please?
* * * * *

And December 7, 1941: don't forget this date, please.  We dare not forget what happened when Japan bombed our sailors at Pearl Harbor - nor how close they came to beating us on that day, if only our carriers had been present. Thank God (literally) they were elsewhere at the time.

On our recent trip to Honolulu, we shared a shuttle with a young mother (and her two kids) from Canada.

The shuttle had a video of local attractions playing, and she asked "What's that?" when the Arizona Memorial was displayed. I told her of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and what happened to the Arizona. She'd heard of Pearl Harbor, but not much else.

The driver told us, as we disembarked, "I'd have answered her, but you were doing such a good job that I didn't want to interrupt you. You must have been here before."  It made me sad to think that people have to go see it, to learn about it. It used to be taught in schools.

We're visiting Pearl again in March, where I hope to once again speak with - and thank - survivors of that attack. It's a humbling experience.

Topsy-Turvy Weather

It's 44 degrees this morning, and windy. There were gusts of 105 mph on the hillside above us, overnight. While it's dying down now (to 15 to 30 mph), the wind had the effect of glazing the ice-covered streets and parking lots, as well as causing a great deal of snow-melting.

The school districts, colleges, and local bus service have all been canceled again today, and the local electric co-op is working overtime to fix power outages due to fallen power-lines.

It's amazing: we handled two weeks of subzero weather just fine, albeit with grumbling aplenty. Now that it's 20 degrees warmer than normal, all h*** breaks loose. Go figure.

Our normal high for mid-January is 22, and lows around 9 or 10 degrees. One week ago, it was 20 below zero, a 40-degree departure from normal. Now we've shifted 60 degrees in the other direction.

Accu-Hunch, ever faithful, is calling for near-normal temps with snow, or a rain-snow mix, by the weekend. So if our temperatures are going down, that tends to mean the Lower 48 warms back up.

In the meantime, you're freezing and we're melting. Let's hope things go back to normal soon.