Kelly Maria Stancil, age 11, of Waukegon, I11., for her question:
WHY IS ALASKA ALWAYS SO COLD?
On June 27, 1915, the temperature in Fort Yukon, Alaska, rose to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. And Fort Yukon is almost right on the Arctic Circle. So, if we tend to think of Alaska as a year round icebox, it's high time to change our minds.
It is true that the climate in Alaska tends to run to extremes, and the winters are very different from the summers. In some places, winter temperatures are as cold as minus 50 degrees F. or even somewhat colder. But the frost departs in the spring and even the northern shores along the Arctic Sea reach a comfortable range between 44 52 degrees.
Obviously no part of Alaska is a year round icebox, even though part of it lies in the Arctic Circle. From the map, we expect great climate changes from place to place. Alaska's enormous area is more than 10 times larger than Illinois.The north south distance, where more climate variations are expected, is 381 miles in Illinois; in Alaska it stretches 1,200 miles.
It also helps to know that the coastal regions of Alaska enjoy mild breezes from the Japan Current in the Pacific Ocean. And let's not forget the hours of sunlight. As we travel north from the equator, summer days grow longer and winter days grow shorter.
Within the Arctic Circle, the sun stays above the horizon through the long summer months. This is followed by the long winter night, when the sun fails to rise. Most of Alaska is south of the Arctic Circle and the summer nights are very short. All those long hours of sunshine bring a warm, comfortable summer season. Plants thrive in the rich soil and vegetables produce bumper crops.
As we would expect, the mildest regions are along thesouthern shores. There, the winters bring frost and the temperature may dip to zero. But the long summers usually stay in the comfortable 50s and 60s. The extremes occur in the far north and the interior. There the winter temperature dips below zero and the summer often zooms up to the 80s.
Alaska's coldest day was recorded at Barrow, in the far north. There, on Janaury.23, 1971, it was minus 80 degrees. Things get much colder in Siberia. There, more than 1,000 miles farther from the North Pole, the record is minus 90 degrees.