I would like to thank the ADN for continuing to maintain the Weather section in the daily paper. I know it’s not a sexy section, but I have been studying it regularly for 30 years. I do miss the days when the paper printed the parabolic wave line showing where we were on our journey between the solstices. That graph has been maintained in a simpler form by the daylight gain/ loss column, which lets us know when the sun will be rising and setting,
I’m glad to see the precipitation graph is still there stating what actual and normal precipitation is/was for the past six months above the column that tells us yesterday’s precipitation, as well as the month to date. I don’t know how many people follow these stats, but it was interesting to note that only one-hundredth of an inch fell in Anchorage this past June and August. A virtual flat-line in the actual graph.
It’s always fun to check the map and see what’s going on weather-wise around the rest of the state. Then there’s the column with today and tomorrows highs, lows and shorthand for weather for Alaska’s communities. I always check the bottom of that column to see where the hottest and coldest towns were yesterday. Interesting to note that since equinox somewhere in Alaska has been above 50 degrees every day.
Which brings us to the tiny graph that shows the highs and lows for the past week. There’s a line above and below for what should be the normal average high and low for the week, and boxes representing actual temps that have consistently hovered above both lines this entire past week. I read recently that these averages change every 20 years to account for the new data that has been input. So while I listen to the recent snow drip steadily off the roof on this 45 degree day in late November, it’s good to know that by 2021, this should be reflected in the graph as part of the ‘new normal.’
— Brian MacMillan
Bootlegger’s Cove
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