Jan. 1989 Cold Snap
For about two weeks, extreme cold gripped most of Alaska. The cold snap was caused by a reduction of warm air advection resulting from a southward-shifted jet stream. This prevented low-pressure systems to move in and warm the Interior, thus high pressures built and temperatures plummeted.[1] The worst of the cold snap, occurring during the end of January, was exacerbated by cold-air advection near the surface from Siberia.[2]
A variety of consequences strained Alaskans because of the cold snap. The troubles included: fuel shortages, congealed heating fuel, cars not being able to start, scattered telephone outages, frozen water and sewage lines, and non-delivery of supplies to villages. Governor Cowper signed a declaration of emergency to have more funds readily available for the emergencies.[3]
Many single-day and multi-day records were set during these two weeks. On January 31 in Northway, the pressure rose to 31.85inHg, which became the highest North American pressure ever recorded, until the record was broken two days later in Dawson City, Yukon.[4] The coldest temperature during this time was -76F in Tanana, followed by -75F in McGrath[5], but temperatures of -50F to -60F were common, with wind chills in the -100Fs.
The high finally began moving eastward on February 1, plaguing Canada and the lower 48.[6] Contrastingly, Alaska had an anomalously warm February because of warm advection due to strong meridional flow.1 On February 5, a Fairbanks sounding recorded the station’s largest ever surface-to-925mb temperature inversion of nearly 60F as temperatures began to rise.[7]
Citation / Corres-ponding
Date(s) / Details / File(s)
Alaska Summary. Anchorage Daily News (AK)- January 16, 1989. Section: Alaska Weather. Page(s): A2. / Jan. 15 / § High pressure and clear skies prevailed over mainland Alaska from Barrow to Homer. / Scan0035
B-b-bundle up; c-c-cold here awhile. Daily News-Miner (AK)- January 16, 1989. Page(s): 3. / Jan. 16 / § A massive pool of Arctic air extended across all of northern Siberia and two-thirds of the state of Alaska, all the way into northwest Canada. There isn’t anything to move it: the storm track is well south of the state. / Scan0095
Snow blankets Juneau, Sitka; rain hits south. The Anchorage Times (AK)- January 17, 1989. Author(s): Associated Press. Section: Weather. Page(s): A-2. / Jan. 16 / § Snow and rain from Juneau to Sitka with temperatures in the mid 40s, while the rest of the state was sunny because of high pressure.
§ -56F at Fort Yukon and -2F in Anchorage. / Scan0023
Cold still grips mainland; Yukon plummets to -50. The Anchorage Times (AK)- January 18, 1989. Author(s): Associated Press. Section: Weather. Page(s): A-2. / Jan. 17 / § A massive high-pressure system over the northern and central portions of the mainland caused clear and cold weather.
§ -40F over the south central Interior and southwest Alaska. / Scan0027
Weather – Summary. Ketchikan Daily News (AK)- January 19, 1989. Author(s): The Associated Press. Section: Local – Alaska. Page(s): A3. / Jan. 17 / § Cold weather over all of Alaska on 1/17.
§ Temperature around
-60F in the southern slope of the Brooks Range during the night of 1/17.
§ Chandalar Lake reported -62F.
§ Temperatures in the -50Fs reported in areas north and west of the Alaska Range.
§ -19F overnight low on 1/17 at the Anchorage AP, this was the coldest temperature there in seven years.
§ Meanwhile, the Aleutians, the Peninsula, the Northeast Gulf Coast, and the Southeast had daytime temperatures in the 20s and 30s with snow. / Scan0014
Weather – Summary. Ketchikan Daily News (AK)- January 20, 1989. Author(s): The Associated Press. Section: Local – Alaska. Page(s): A3. / Jan. 19 / § -64F at Chandalar Lake.
§ 1/19 was the sixth day in a row that the temperature has remained below -50F for Chandalar.
§ On 1/19, readings of -50F covered the Interior between the Brooks and the Alaska Ranges.
§ Temperatures in the -30Fs along the west coast, and -20Fs and -30Fs over the South-Central. Clear skies except for some fog and ice fog. However, the Southeast was mild with temperatures in the 20Fs to 40Fs. / Scan0015
You’re even more helpless without power at 40 below. Daily News-Miner (AK)- January 20, 1989. Author(s): Susan Fisher, Staff Writer. Page(s): 1. / Jan. 19 / § 1,082 GVEA customers were without power in the North Pole area during the night of 1/19. 98% of customers got power back by 4am on 1/20. The reason for the breakage is unclear. / Scan0101
Mainland Alaska stays locked in deep freeze. The Anchorage Times (AK)- January 20, 1989. Author(s): Times Staff and Associated Press. Page(s): A-1. / Jan. 19, 20 / § Overnight low on 1/19 of -17F in Anchorage, and Palmer reported -27F the morning of 1/20, according to the NWS.
§ 1/19 was the coldest Anchorage has been in 14 years with -24F.
§ All of mainland Alaska experienced below-normal temperatures, according to the NWS. / Scan0030
Failure stalls power near Fireweed. The Anchorage Times (AK)- January 20, 1989. Author(s): Times Staff and Associated Press. Page(s): A-1. / Jan. 20 / § 4,000 residents in western Anchorage lost power the morning of 1/20. It was restored an hour and 20 minutes after it went out. Businesses and traffic signals in the areas of Fireweed and Arctic also went out. / Scan0030
All but Southeast gripped by cold. The Anchorage Times (AK)- January 20, 1989. Section: Weather. Author(s): Associated Press. Page(s): A-2. / Jan. 20 / § High pressure continued to grip much of Alaska.
§ Cold air reached the Gulf and the Prince William Sound. Cordova had temperatures in the negative teens, while the Panhandle was in the 30Fs to 40s, and in the teens to 20Fs from Kodiak to the Peninsula. A low-pressure system near the Panhandle brought precipitation to the Southeast. / Scan0031
Bitter cold to linger longer. Daily News-Miner (AK)- January 20, 1989. Author(s): News-Miner Staff Report. Page(s): 1, 8. / Jan. 20 / § Visibility dropped to one-eighth to one-quarter of a mile in Fairbanks.
§ Taxi companies had delays anywhere from 90 minutes to 4 hours picking people up.
§ With ice fog, carbon monoxide levels are low because the temperature in the fog is evenly distributed, and so are the CO2 molecules.
§ A weather balloon sent up at 3am on 1/20 reported the cold layer was 2,000ft deep. / Scan0101, Scan0104
Frigid conditions ground air taxis. Ketchikan Daily News (AK)- January 21, 1989. Author(s): Dean Fosdick, The Associated Press. Section: Local – Alaska. Page(s): A3. / Jan. 20 / § Air taxi operators shut down planes when temperatures drop below -30F because it puts stress on them, and there have been temperatures in the
-40Fs. Non-operating is a problem because villages rely on shipments of food, mail, and medicine.
§ Kotzebue hasn’t been above
-15F since 1/15, according to an FAA spokesman. / Scan0016
Weather – Summary. Ketchikan Daily News (AK)- January 21, 1989. Author(s): The Associated Press. Section: Local – Alaska. Page(s): A3. / Jan. 20 / § -68F reported at Coldfoot, which is on the Dalton Highway near the southern slope of the Brooks Range.
§ Lows in the -40Fs common between the Brooks and the Alaska Ranges on 1/20. / Scan0017
Some paper routes ‘frozen out’. Daily News-Miner (AK)- January 21, 1989. Page(s): 1. / Jan. 20 / § About 500 residents on eight routes were without paper the night of 1/20. This is because when the temperature drops below -50F, carriers are given the option of holding up deliveries until the temperature increases. / Scan0105
Cold paralyzes Alaska mainland; Southeast mild. The Anchorage Times (AK)- January 22, 1989. Section: Weather. Author(s): Associated Press. Page(s): A-2. / Jan. 21 / § For nearly a week, temperatures in the Interior have been down in the -40Fs, and since then, the only movement has been downward.
§ On 1/21, -67F reported at Circle. / Scan0036
Weather – Summary. Ketchikan Daily News (AK)- January 23, 1989. Author(s): The Associated Press. Section: Local – Alaska. Page(s): A3. / Jan. 22 / § On 1/22, -70F unofficial temperature in Eureka, 80 miles west of Fairbanks.
§ -60F below for most of the morning on 1/22.
§ Anchorage was -25F on the morning of 1/22. / Scan0019
Weather – Summary. Ketchikan Daily News (AK)- January 24, 1989. Author(s): The Associated Press. Section: Local – Alaska. Page(s): A3. / Jan. 23 / § -60F for the Interior and -70F wind chills along the arctic slopes on 1/23.
§ A storm over the Gulf raised some temperatures in the area. It warmed to 30F along the rim of the Gulf. / Scan0020
Alaska briefs. Ketchikan Daily News (AK)- January 24, 1989. Section: Local – Alaska. Page(s): A3. / Jan. 23 / § Fairbanks had five consecutive days where the warmest temperature was lower than
-40F, which is the city’s longest cold snap.
§ Temperatures on 1/24 could have been warmer because of a storm from the Gulf moving into the Interior. / Scan0021
Could it get colder? Yes. Daily News-Miner (AK)- January 24, 1989. Page(s): 1, 5. / Jan. 24 / § 1/24 was the sixth consecutive day in Fairbanks that the maximum high temperature was -40F or less. Record is nine days, beginning 12/21/1967.
§ Flat tires, snapped fan belts, and dense ice fog have kept police busy rescuing stranded motorists since last week. The police received an average of 10 calls a day. / Scan0117
Weather – Summary. Ketchikan Daily News (AK)- January 25, 1989. Author(s): The Associated Press. Section: Local – Alaska. Page(s): A3. / Jan. 24 / § Dangerous wind chills and frigid temperatures continued 1/24 as arctic air was still over most of the state.
§ Ice fog and cold temperatures in the Interior as high pressure remained over the Brooks Range.
§ A low-pressure system and its front moved eastward along the southern coast, depositing snow on the eastern Aleutians, the Peninsula, and Kodiak Island. Only these locations were above 0F.
§ Dangerous wind chills between the high- and low-pressure systems, as wind was created. / Scan0022
Brief ‘warm’ spell foils record bid. Daily News-Miner (AK)- January 25, 1989. Page(s): 1. / Jan. 25 / § Fairbanks lost its chance to beat the record of nine straight days below -40F, because on 1/25 it “warmed up” to -34F.
§ The slight warm-up was from a storm in the Gulf that pushed moisture and warmer air to the Interior. / Scan0118
Anchorage squad cars balk. Ketchikan Daily News (AK)- January 25, 1989. Section: Local – Alaska. Page(s): A3. / Jan. 24 / § Anchorage has had 9 consecutive days of sub-zero weather.
§ 21 police cars would not start because some of the engine heaters didn’t work and because there weren’t enough electrical outlets. / Scan0023
Panhandle mild; cold still batters most state areas. The Anchorage Times (AK)- January 26, 1989. Author(s): Associate Press. Section: Weather. Page(s): A-2. / Jan. 25 / § The Panhandle continued to be mild and wet while the rest of the state was in bitter cold.
§ Low temperatures in the -60Fs over the southern slopes of the Brooks Range and through much of the Kobuk, Koyukuk and Yukon valleys.
§ Ambler had state’s coldest reading of the day with -68F.
§ Prudhoe Bay reported -94F with wind chill during the morning of 1/25. / Scan0044
Bush folk struggle to cope with cold. The Anchorage Times (AK)- January 26, 1989. Author(s): Joe Hunt, Times Writer. Page(s): A-1, A-5. / Jan. 21, 23, 25 / § The village of Buckland, 75 miles southeast of Kotzebue, lost electricity as temperatures were below -50F. The residents stayed in the local school, with a gas-powered generator keeping the lights on.
§ Selawik, 75 miles east of Kotzebue, had been without phone service since 1/23.
§ On 1/25, 90,000 pounds of mail and dozens of stranded people were flown out to the bush villages. / Scan0043, Scan0045
Record shattering cold. The Nome Nugget (AK)- January 26, 1989. Author(s): Sandra Medearls. Page(s): 1, 3. / Jan. 18-23 / § A biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game predicted that with the extreme cold, more deeply frozen rivers would affect fish that spawn in fresh water. This would endanger pink and chum salmon because the cold puts ice down deeper than in the past, causing salmon eggs to freeze in the gravel.
§ Some record minimum temperatures for Nome: 1/18 with -35F, 1/19 with -38F, 1/20 with -40F, 1/21 with -44F, 1/22 with -44F, and 1/23 with -45F. / Scan0039,
Scan0040
Arctic weather takes it toll here. Homer News (AK)- January 26, 1989. Author(s): Hal Spence, Staff Writer. Page(s): 2. / § A week of bitter cold has left Homer roads covered in glacier ice, delayed school buses, caused scattered power outages and left harbor personnel working long hours to keep small boats afloat in Homer Harbor.
§ The cold snap began 1/15. It caused temperatures as low as
-10F on 1/18, the last time it was that cold there was in 1972 according to the NWS in Anchorage.
§ During a four-day stretch between 1/19 and 1/22, the temperature never got above 8F in Homer. / Scan0007
High winds wreak havoc. Ketchikan Daily News (AK)- January 27, 1989. Author(s): Belinda Chase, Daily News Staff Writer. Page(s): 1. / Jan. 26 / § Fallen trees, power outages, and blown-off truck canopies were the result of high winds from the night of 1/25 until the morning of 1/26.
§ Ketchikan Int’l AP measured 81mph gusts between midnight 1/25 and 1am 1/26.
§ NWS Annette Island reported 56mph winds just after midnight on 1/25. / Scan0024
Weather – Summary. Ketchikan Daily News (AK)- January 27, 1989. Author(s): The Associated Press. Section: Local – Alaska. Page(s): A3. / Jan. 26 / § -74F at Ambler, which is the coldest temperature so far during this two-week cold spell.