Further north in the Arctic regions, winter has been blowing really cold and frigid for the most part. Except for a city named Utqiagvik in Alaska which recorded a temperature within the 20s to 30s range last week. It wasn't the only one though. Practically the entire North Slope of Alaska "was having record temperatures of 30 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit" which is unusual for an Arctic climate during winter.
All of this, Thoman says, is related to a series of storms that moved from the North Pacific into the central and western Bering starting in late January. Some of those storms continued north into the Chukchi sea as well, and in doing so “transported very warm air up to the North Slope,” Thoman told Earther. The heat wave backed off this week, with temperatures dropping back into bone-rattlingly cold (aka normal) territory, although the respite from could be short-lived.
(Image credit: Bryan Thomas/Twitter)
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It wasn't that long ago that the army's 10th Mountain Division moved from Alaska to Fort Drum in northern NY where the winters were colder for their training exercises.
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One of my friends posted a pic last week of sunny, 50 weather in Sitka, Alaska. Said he was having to be careful about getting sunburnt. And giving those dealing with freezing temps and snow in the Pacific Northwest a bad time. :^}
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