Time for Climate

Given that Alaska has a high location latitude, the territory is familiar to severe seasonal variability.  This environment leads to the warmer weather in the summer and frigid cold winters to keep ‘Frosty the Snowman’ around longer than here in Denver.  These conditions occur when Fairbanks has clear skies and unruffled winds—especially due to the prime location in the valley. Fairbanks sitting in the Tanana Valley surrounded on by the Alaska, Kuskokwim, and the Yukon-Tanana Uplands mountain Ranges. “Almost nowhere on Earth are surface-based temperature inversions stronger than in the Interior of Alaska.”[1]

http://www.greatlandofalaska.com/reference/ranges.html#alaska

The cold continental polar air mass troughs down the slopes to the valley base, where it gets trapped.  Once this air is trapped in the valley base it circulates around the residing community with freezing temperatures—burr.  In the winters, the mean temperature average is slightly below freezing.  Also, during the winter because of this inverse created by being in the valley produces ice fog.  The ice fog is a dense layer of suspended ice crystals, caused by gases being emitted from the surrounding urban island.[2]

*(Web Cams can be seen through the links at the top of RAFscience blog)

Under the Köppen-Geiger, Fairbanks, is considered part of the subarctic climate.[3]  This climate covers an extensive area; western Alaska to the Newfoundland, and Norway to the Pacific coast of Russia.  The subartic climate may also be referred by as the taiga.  In the taiga, coniferous trees are native, but, not too many other plants.  In the summer the residents will encounter millions of insects though, and birds migrate there every year.[4]

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/taiga.htm

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[1]Shulski, Martha , and Michael Mogil. "Alaska's Climate and Weather."Weatherwise Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <hhttp://www.weatherwise.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/2009/January-February%202009/full-shulski-mogil.html>.

[2] "The Interior." Alaska Climate Research Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/Stations/I

[3]Lutgens, Frederick K., Edward J. Tarbuck, and Dennis Tasa. "World Climate" The Atmosphere: an Introduction to Meteorology. 11th ed. New York: Prentice Hall, 2010. 441. Print.

[4]"Taiga Biomes." Blue Planet Biomes. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/taiga.htm>.

Springfield, Missouri vs. Fairbanks, Alaska

Springfield, Missouri located near the Ozark Mountains and front row tickets to the action from ‘Tornado Alley’. The topography of this city causes similarities and differences in weather next to Fairbanks, Alaska.  They both share the dry, cold continental polar (cP) air mass, for Springfield it comes down from the north in the winter.  The difference between the cities lies in the collision of the second air mass.  Fairbanks receives a cold, moist air-mass from the Aleutian Low causing a warm occlude front creating the precipitation to form in snow; while Springfield collides with the Bermuda Azores High. The Bermuda Azores High coming in from the Gulf of Mexico has a following of warm, moist air causing a cold occlude front. [1]  The warm air from the maritime tropic (mP) over taken by the colder air of the continent polar (cP); causing the warm parcels to freeze--result--ice storms. [2] 

photo by Weather Journal
http://weatherjournalandmisc.owlinc.org/    

photo by Alan Burkhart
http://alanburkhart.blogspot.com/2009/01/images-from-missouri-ice-storm.html

Springfield, affected by two different types of air masses; the Bermuda Azores High and the Continental Yukon High can make for thunderstorms in the Spring and Summer.   From these storms, a super cell thunderstorm can grow which creates Tornado’s.  The super cell from which the Tornado comes from must be very unstable and consist of the cold, dry polar air (cP) arguing with the warm, moist tropic air (mT). Now, lets imagine a pencil (cold air) rolling across a flat surface. As the pencil is still rolling something slowly starts to lift the pencil into a vertical direction (uplift) while still in motion.  The air mass when colliding starts to swirl and form funnels.  This funnel begins to spin faster and creates a low-pressure area, this in turns gathers more air from the outside (possibly debris) into it; the creation of a Tornado.[3]

diagram from NESTA

photo by Dick Gowan
http://stackedplates.blogspot.com/2009/07/storm-photos-of-day.html

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[1]Morvay, Megan, weatherandclimate3232@wordpress.com

[2]Lutgens, Frederick K., Edward J. Tarbuck, and Dennis Tasa. "Air Masses." The Atmosphere: an Introduction to Meteorology. 11th ed. New York: Prentice Hall, 2010. 249. Print.

[3]"Tornado Formation." Windows to the Universe. National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA). Web. <http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/tornado/formation.html>.