A Quarter-Turn Off Normal...

It's pretty much a given, I suppose, that things just aren't the same in Alaska as they are anywhere else in the USA. I was tempted to say the world, but there have got to be places that would make Alaska look like normal. Regardless, here is a brief sampling of some of the oddities I've noticed so far. Don't worry, I'm sure there will be more to share in a few months.

78 as bad as 98
That would be in reference to the temperature. It boggles the mind, I assure you. I also assure you that I did not acclimatize so quickly this winter that I can't handle a little bit of warm air. The reality is that 78 dry, dusty degrees with the sun directly overhead is pretty much just as oppressive as 98 wet, sticky degrees of Florida humidity. I suffered the delusion that Alaska summers would carry all of the beautiful delight of Florida winters. That's a load of hogwash. Don't get me wrong - I'll take dry heat over walking through air as thick as a sponge anytime.

Almost Dark at Midnight
I was up at midnight the other day, and it was almost dark. There are very few places in this fine world of ours where that declaration would be considered normal and carry a ring of good news. It should always be dark at midnight, right? Well, now that would be the reason why they call this the "Land of the Midnight Sun" - although you have to go north of Fairbanks for that to be literally true. No, I don't know what time the sun is rising - we now have very nice blackout blinds in our bedroom.

Weather - From East to West
The local weather pattern in Anchorage predominantely moves from east to west. That's just plain weird. Granted, the overall pattern in the region is still west to east. However, the systems come up into the Gulf of Alaska and slide along the coast. Since the rotation of a storm system is counter-clockwise, and Anchorage is pretty much always on the northern side of the systems, all I've seen so far is weather coming down out of the Chugach Mountains (which are to the east of Anchorage) and sliding off into the Cook Inlet (which is to the west of Anchorage). There were a few times in Florida where the seabreeze would be strong enough to blow storms from the Atlantic in to Orlando - but they were usually picked up by the prevailing winds and pushed back out east.

Weather - A Nearly Tropical Summer...
...in Barrow! Not really. I have no idea what "normal" is in Barrow (which is pretty much the northern-most point in Alaska, and therefore the country..duh), but I noticed in the weather forecast that the low is barely above freezing. That's nuts. Living in Barrow makes living anywhere else in this state seem perfectly rational and normal.

Otherwise things are just peachy here. Hope you are doing well also.

God bless.

Snow in July? Oh, Hail.

Isn't that the darndest thing? Enough hail fell on that mountain that it looked like snowfall. The thunderstorm that dropped that hail was one of the most intense on record in Anchorage. Apparently, Anchorage "normally" doesn't get thunderstorms, although they are becoming more frequent each year. 3 or 4 years ago, they were unheard of. It amazes me that the heat in Anchorage (which hardly ever hits 80 degrees), feels almost as stifling as it did in Florida (which rarely went below 95 degrees in the summertime). Given that, it doesn't surprise me that they've got thunderheads developing in the afternoons. Apparently, if the wind blows in from the Cook Inlet (which has very cool, if not cold, water), it pretty much eliminates any energy built up in the storms. There was no wind blowing in off the Inlet yesterday.

It's really quite frustrating. In Florida, I could see a thunderhead and be able to make a pretty good guess as to how long it would be before it hit. Here, the mountains just mess everything up. It is simply impossible to predict mountain weather with any certainty. Many people here criticize the weather people, but I sympathize with them. They've got a tough job, and I certainly wouldn't want it.

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In other news, Karey is doing very, very well. She has pretty much recovered. Every couple of days we talk about what happened. The past couple of months have been very hard for both of us, but the support we have received from family and friends, near and far, has been tremendous. Thank you to each and every one of you.

There's a lot that's been going on, and a lot I've been thinking about. Hopefully, I'll be able to find some time to share it with you.

Blessings,
David