October 2016 was the driest on record in Fairbanks.
National Weather Service meteorologist Christopher Cox says the October precipitation tally at Fairbanks International Airport was the lowest in Fairbanks’ 106 years of weather records.
“We only had 0.02 inches of liquid precipitation in October and that was the driest October on record,” Cox said.
Cox said the airport recorded less than an inch of snow, well below the over 10 inch normal.
He said high pressure has blocked Bering Sea storms which typically bring precipitation to the interior in the fall, but a change is expected this week.
“We actually have a shift in the patterns and we’re looking for a storm to move into the northern Gulf of Alaska late Wednesday into Thursday and there will be some snow that will move up from the southeast late Wednesday into Thursday time-frame,” Cox said.
Cox said 1-2 inches of accumulation is forecast for Fairbanks, with a little bit more possible in higher terrain, including the Forty Mile Country.
He said there’s a chance for snow showers into the weekend.
Dan Bross is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
