North Pole Weather 12/23/13

The sun will rise at 10:59 this morning, and set 3 hours 42 minutes later, at 2:41 this afternoon. The days are getting longer, but only by about half a minute since the solstice, nor is the maximum height of the sun much more than 2°. That will begin to change with increasing rapidity. By Christmas the day will be 2 minutes longer than today.

We’ve had a little more snow; the snow stake in the yard indicated around 18” in the brief period of daylight yesterday, and it’s still snowing lightly. The forecast was for more snow, so I could have more by the time it’s light enough to see. Note that only half of the stake now shows. (Update 10:45: the snow depth is now 21″.)

The temperatures are not extreme by Alaskan standards: generally below zero, but nowhere near forty below. I can live with that, especially since I now have a heated garage.

And I’m actually beginning to look (and feel) as if I have hair again.