The sun will rise this morning at 9:38, and set just less than 6 hours later, at 3:33 this afternoon. If the sky should clear today (which I don’t expect) the sun might shine briefly through the trees to the south, but it certainly won’t rise above them – it’s now less than 6° above the horizon at its highest. Given next week’s forecast, the sun probably won’t touch my windows again until well into January.
Winter may be a month away officially, but that didn’t save us from two winter storms last week, with a mixture of rain and snow making the roads so slick that school was canceled. (It takes quite a bit to cancel schools in Alaska.) I considered 
myself lucky that the power was out here for only a few hours; the wind (unusual here in winter) took down a number of trees. Small branches sticking out of the snow were all I noticed in the yard. I don’t expect more wind (though given the direction of the jet stream it wouldn’t surprise me) but the forecast for the next week is cloudy with snow showers. And some people still don’t have power.
I didn’t dare try driving until Saturday, and kept well below the speed limits then. There’s a coating of ice on the roads that will last until it wears off – not a good start for the winter. Outdoor latches are frozen, too – I had to break some open. At least the neighbor who is kind enough to plow my driveway managed to get the storm door to close!
My hair is actually getting long enough to feel rough against the way it wants to grow. No sign it might come in curly, though.
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Hi Sue Ann,
As a writer visiting Fairbanks for a month, I’m simply inspired by the sparkling beauty around me; it’s rather like breathing diamonds. Maybe that explains the glowing personalities I keep encountering.
Beautiful photos…love snow if l can be inside looking at it through my window while sipping hot chocolate.
Fast look out the windows. I did open the chain-link gate to toe old dog run. (With some difficulty–it was frozen shut.)
Stop by and say Hi. I’m in the North Pole phone book.
With low solar activity levels, the negative Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and the general trend for a much colder winter after the onset of last year’s La Niña, this winter could prove to be a record breaker with extremely cold temperatures and exceptional levels of snow for many parts of the US.
It’s not really below normal for here. (At least so far.)
Updated at 4:30 p.m. ET: A gusting winter storm buried parts of the Northeast under 3 feet of snow and left millions of people with little to do Sunday but wait — for lights to come on, flights to resume and packed-in cars to be freed.
Weird weather all over this year.
Last week, we had tornado warnings here.
I’ve been hearing about tornadoes on the news, but that’s one thing we don’t have much here.
You’re lucky…lt was scary here, but not much damage. lt was worse in lllinois. Now it’s cold and getting colder for Thanksgiving. l’ll be going out tomorrow for groceries, etc, then staying home until Thursday.
I grew up in Kansas.