I'm Dreaming of a Brown Christmas: The Great Alaska
Chinook of December 1934 (329)
Eric Stevens, University
of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK
Richard Thoman, National
Weather Service
Abstract:
Fairbanks Alaska has more
than a century of weather and climate observations. But only once, in the
aftermath of the Great Alaska Chinook of 1934, has Fairbanks experienced a
brown Christmas. This event set temperature records at several locations across
Alaska, and many of those records stand to this day. Temperatures in Fairbanks,
just over 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle, peaked above 50 F for five
consecutive days, with low temperatures remaining above freezing on two days.
The nearby community of Nenena reached 60 F, and down on the Gulf of Alaska a
thunderstorm shook the village of Seward. The question naturally comes up: what
weather scenario could yield such extreme weather? Before the era of weather
satellites, weather radar, widespread use of weather balloons, available data
are limited to surface observations and the testimony of contemporary
witnesses, which can now be supplemented by reanalysis. Drawing upon this
information, the Chinook of 1934 will be described and compared to the Chinook
of September 1995, a similarly impressive event that occurred in an era when
much more meteorological documentation is available. Lastly, the societal
impact of the 1934 event will be summarized.