General Discussion & Chat: Climate, 1 by Weezingreens

Weezingreens wrote:
With all the lines of communications these days, most people have got over the notion that Alaska is frozen and dark for 12 months of the year. As I mentioned on the last thread, the climate on one end of this big state is far different from the other.

For instance, way up north, by Prudhoe Bay, lets say, the summers will get warm and dry... 70 or 80 degrees. In the winter, there will be little snow, but the temps will get down to 30 below. When you get down to the Interior, as we call it... lets say, Fairbanks, the winter temps aren't much warmer than the northerly areas, but it is more humid in the summers and the temps can reach the 90's.

When you get into the Southcentral area, Anchorage has summer temps in the 70's or up to 80. There winter temps drop down to zero sometimes, but hover around freezing. Here in Seward, we are on the coast, so it's often overcast, both winter and summer. Summer temps are usually in the 50-70 degree range, with an occasional sweltering day of 80 degrees. When we reach that level of discomfort, we all run around in shorts, our white legs blinding the tourists. Our winters do a lot of freezing and thawing, with our heaviest snowfalls generally in the early spring. Our temps seldom get down to zero, but can hit the lower teens on occasion.

Then there is the Aleutian Chain. These are islands, so they have the same overcast, rainy type weather we do, only more of it. The summer temps aren't much different than ours, but the winters are considerably milder. Of course, Southeastern Alaska is close to the weather in most of the Pacific Northwest with balmy summers and mild, wet winters.

In Seward, most of the beautiful flowers I see in your pictures from the milder climes will not grow here. Our summers are too short, with only 3 months of fairly good weather, and the cool soil and mild temps slow growth. True, there are summer days that it seems the sun just dims to twilight before rising again, but that isn't always an advantage to growing plants. In the winter it is difficult to keep the houseplants alive, since our daylight hours dwindle down to 4 or 5 hours..just the reverse of winter.

Tomatoes are a greenhouse item, zucchini marginal, but all the brassicas love it here. Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, mustards, kale, collards... all happy campers. I can also grow leeks celery, and Swiss Chard, and lettuce is an all summer crop... it never bolts. For flowers, we can grow campanulas, lychnis, primula, columbine, bleeding heart, poppies... most of the plants that die back in warmer climes during the heat of summer. Here they stay green. Well, I've written alot, but its a big state!