The pic. above is a screen grab from the Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska webcam. The temperature when the picture was taken Thu. evening was -36°F. The high/low temperature for Utqiaġvik was -35°F/-46°F. They have had near record cold there this month, with an average temperature for February of -27°. That’s 13° colder than average. They have had very little precipitation (snow) this month, just 0.13″. Cold air can’t hold as much water as relatively warmer air.
Utqiaġvik is a cold place, even in mid summer when the “midnight sun” is out 24/7. In August 2019, the warmest temperature was 52°. In the picture you can see the clear skies with what looks like haze out over the frozen Arctic Ocean in the background. Ice fog often leaves the utility lines with a coating of frost.
The population of Utqiaġvik is roughly 4,200. It’s estimated that native Iñupiat lived here all the way back around 500 AD. The US acquired Alaska in 1867. The U.S. Army established a meteorological and magnetic research station at Utqiaġvik in 1881. More pictures from Alaska Thu. evening:
This is Chandalar, site of an old mining camp. It’s located about 200 miles north of Fairbanks. The 2010 census listed a population of 5 – half of what the population was in 1940. There’s an incredible range of temperature here at Chandalar. The warmest ever was 90° and the coldest -74°. The average high/low in Jan. is -4°/-25° and the average high/low in July is 68°/42°.
This is Gulkana, AK. The 2010 census reported a population of 119. The mountain in the distance to the right in the picture is 43 miles away.
This is Dutch Harbor – out in the Aleutian Islands. I believe this is the farthest FAA camera from mainland Alaska. There is open ocean water much of the winter here.
Another pic. of Dutch Harbor. The population of the entire island is approx. 4,524. Besides, Pearl Harbor, the Aleutians were the only other part of the U.S. to see combat action during WWII. At the height of the war, over 10,000 sailors and soldiers were stationed here. The area was first settled by the native Aleuts and the Russians.
Surrounded by open ocean water all year long, the climate is modified. The average high temperature in January is 45.8°. You can see with all the snow, they’ve had a colder winter. The average high in July is 68.7°. The warmest temperature ever recorded here was 82° and the coldest was -8°.
Here’s forecast high temperatures for Alaska – with temperatures once again staying below zero across the northern half of the state. At 7 pm Thu. Nuiqsut AK had a temp. of -44°. Wainwright and the Barrow Airport were both -36°.
Here’s two pictures of sunset at Port Hope, Alaska Thu. evening – 10 minutes apart. Today, Port Hope will get 8 min. and 11 sec. more daylight than yesterday. At solar noon today (2:19 pm) the sun will be 13° above the southern horizon.