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.