Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in Middle Tanana Valley, Alaska

A deep trough dropped out of the high arctic and across the interior of Alaska during the middle of November. The combination of a cold air mass and a clear sky brought the coldest extended period of temperatures to the Fairbanks area prior to Thanksgiving in more than a century of weather observations. The average temperature at Fairbanks during the week of November 15-21, 2011 was -30.1 degrees, which was the coldest early winter week on record. Six daily record low temperatures were set at Fairbanks, which included a low of 41 below on the 17th. This was the fifth earliest occurrence of a 40 below on record at Fairbanks. There were also four daily record low maximum temperature records set during this cold snap. The high of 30 below on the 17th was the second earliest occurrence of a daily high of 30 below or lower on record at Fairbanks. As is typical of cold snaps, the coldest temperatures were observed in the North Pole area where there were 6 days with lows in the 40s below, with a low of 49 below on the 17th.