Brian Brettschneider

Yes, Anchorage’s official station has moved during the city’s history. But there’s a reason.

What if a route was designed with no specific destination but aiming to follow the weather? This is essentially what storm chasers do in Tornado Alley. For the rest of us who wish to avoid tornadoes, why not follow a path of pleasant weather?

When I tell people how much daylight there is in an Alaska summer, a common response goes something like this, “Yeah, but you make up for it in the winter.” But that's not quite true.

Most of Alaska is forecast to have above-normal precipitation. Since March is one of the driest months of the year for the Interior, that still may not mean a lot of new snow for Iditarod mushers.

On Dec. 26, 2013, the last time Anchorage was officially below zero, the price of Alaska North Slope crude oil was $109.52 per barrel according to the Alaska Department of Revenue.

The weather of 2014 is already the subject of considerable discussion among climate scientists. Over the weekend, the National Weather Service in Alaska noted that a number of cities across the state with long-term record keeping saw their warmest year on record.

Ending with cold settling in around Anchorage Saturday, temperatures in the city were an average of 8.3 degrees above normal for 36-day span.

It's mid-December and the coldest temperature Mother Nature has delivered to Anchorage so far this winter is 13 degrees. And the lowest daytime high is 24 degrees -- scorching by Alaska standards.

Ice-covered lakes are not unusual this time of year in Alaska. What is unusual is the lack of snow on top of the ice, leaving backcountry skaters such as Anchorage’s Kevin Turinsky a little gaga. “Yesterday, we went to Nancy Lake, and the conditions were just sublime," he said.

For the next six months, it will be cold, dark and snowy in Alaska. Here's how cold, dark and snowy it can get.