2006 Year in Review - Fairbanks
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2006 Year in Review - Fairbanks
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| Dry year for 2006 with snowflakes in June and a warm autumn. |
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2006 Statistics
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| For the year 2006, Fairbanks had a mean annual temperature of 25.8°F, which is one degree below normal. The highest and lowest temperatures of the year were 81°F on July 10th and -51°F on January 27th. One new record high was reported (in February) and two new record lows occurred (in June). Precipitation was about 80% of normal for the year with most of the shortage during the last few months as very little snow fell. In total, snowfall was almost 29 inches less than normal with 39.3 inches for the year. Fairbanks began 2006 with cold and dry conditions. In fact, the average January temperature of -22.0°F was the coldest since 1971. There were five days during the month with lows below -40°F. It was dry as well with only 4 inches of snow for the month. However, the weather pattern changed during the first few days of February and brought comparatively balmy conditions as the month ended more than 9°F above average. Snow was plentiful with a monthly total of 13.2 inches, almost twice the normal amount. As is typical for winter in Interior Alaska, conditions changed back in late February and extending through March with temperatures averaging 8°F below normal. A few inches of snow fell during March and by the start of April there were 17 inches on the ground at the airport. For the rest of spring, temperatures were mostly below normal. The seasonal snowpack declined through April and was officially gone in the valley by the 26th of the month. However, in the surrounding hills north of town the snowpack lasted until mid-May. Leaf-out was a bit later than usual, occurring about the 14th for trees in town. A surprise snowfall, record low temperatures, and hard frost started off the summer in Fairbanks. On the 4th of June, a trace of snow was observed at the airport, with more occurring on the hills. That same night a new record low temperature of 29°F was reported, breaking the all-time lowest temperature for June. The month was colder than normal overall, and dry as well with half the normal precipitation amount. The cool weather continued into July and August, however precipitation picked up with above normal rainfall for these months. There was a definite lack of warm days for the summer of 2006 with the high temperature above 80°F only once. As might be expected from the cool weather, thunderstorm activity in the area was quite low. In addition, forest fires across the state for this 2006 season were below average and well below the previous two seasons with only about 270,000 acres burned statewide. With the low area burned, there were very few smoky days in Fairbanks. Through September and October, Fairbanks residents experienced mild weather and an extension to summer. Temperatures were above normal until early November, which made for a much longer than normal growing season with the first below freezing temperature at the airport occurring on September 25th. In addition, snow cover was not established until October 21st, about a month later than usual. The late start to the snow season was a sign of things to come with the seasonal snowfall total at the end of the year 28 inches less than normal at only 14.2 inches. This is the normal total for December! Temperatures were well below normal for November with an average of nearly -10°F, a departure of more than 12°F. Conditions moderated the first week of December and then were near normal the remainder of the month. |
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Click on the images for a larger view.
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| Questions or comments? Please contact the Alaska Climate Research Center. Preliminary climatological data are used for this summary. Please report any errors found to the Climate Center Posted: 5 January, 2007 |
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