Alaska News

Winter is coming: Fairbanks sees first hard frost

Fairbanks has officially seen its first hard frost of the season. For the first time since May 18, the temperature fell below 32 degrees Saturday at the Fairbanks International Airport, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports.

A low of 29 degrees was reported right before 8 a.m. With an average hard frost date of Sept. 7, winter appears to be right on schedule for this town in Alaska's heartland.

The coldest reported by the News-Miner was at Goldstream Creek, which recorded a low of 22 degrees.

Sunday's forecast for Fairbanks shows highs in the 50s during the day, and the temperatures are expected to dip into the mid-20s to lower 30s at night, according to the National Weather Service. These low night-time temperatures are forecast through Thursday.

"Some cooler air moved in and it's going to stick around," Bob Fischer at the National Weather Service told the News-Miner.

Another sure sign that winter is coming: Four inches of snow caused partial road closures at Denali National Park this week.

Folks in Anchorage may cringe at these reports; Alaska's largest city had an unusually cold summer in 2012.

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Sunday night's forecast for Anchorage also shows lows in the 20s to mid 30s. But these low overnight temperatures are expected to stick around only for one day, before rising back up to lows in the mid 30s and 40s for Monday night.

Read more about the Fairbanks frost at the News-Miner.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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