567
ABAK34 PAOM 021600
PNSOME
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NOME AK
700 AM AKST MON NOV 2 2009
...OCTOBER 2009 FEATURES FIRST-RECORDED AUTUMN THUNDERSTORM IN
NOME...
OCTOBER 2009 WAS BOTH A LITTLE WARMER AND DRIER THAN TYPICAL. IN
ADDITION, THE MONTH FEATURED A WEATHER SURPRISE IN THE FORM OF A
DYNAMIC THUNDERSTORM THAT STRUCK THE GOLD RUSH CITY ON THE TENTH.
WHILE TEMPERATURES FOR OCTOBER 2009 REGISTERED AT 2.0 DEGREES WARMER
THAN NORMAL, FIFTEEN DAYS ACTUALLY SAW NORMAL TO BELOW AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES. IN FACT, IF NOT FOR A STORMY PERIOD OF SOUTHERLY FLOW
ALOFT ADVECTING UNUSUALLY WARM TEMPERATURES BETWEEN THE 7TH AND THE
14TH OF THE MONTH, TEMPERATURES MAY HAVE BEEN QUITE NORMAL, EVEN
SLIGHTLY COOLER. BETWEEN THE 8TH AND THE 12TH, DAILY AVERAGE
TEMPERATURES RAN FROM 10 TO 19 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL. THE WARMTH WAS
RECORD-BREAKING. ON THE TENTH THE OLD RECORD OF 47 WAS SHATTERED AS
THE MERCURY IN NOME ROSE TO 53 DEGREES. IN ADDITION, TWO RECORD
MAXIMUM MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WERE BROKEN: ON THE 10TH THE
TEMPERATURE FELL TO A MILD 46, BREAKING THE OLD RECORD OF 42 AND ON
THE 11TH THE TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO 44, BREAKING THE OLD RECORD OF
40. TEMPERATURES FELL TO LOWER THAN SEASONABLE LEVELS DURING THE
LAST THIRD OF THE MONTH AS A COLD WAVE COUPLED WITH A SUBSTANTIAL
SNOWFALL EVENT CAPPED TEMPERATURES TO THE FREEZING POINT. THE LOW
FOR THE MONTH OCCURRED ON HALLOWEEN AT 4 DEGREES.
NOME ALSO LACKED THE PERCIPITATION OF NORMAL DURING OCTOBER OF 2009.
EVEN AS THE BERING SEA STORM OF THE SECOND WEEKEND BROUGHT RECORD
WARM TEMPERATURES, PRECIPITATION LEVELS WERE KEPT RELATIVELY LOW.
THE GREATEST AMOUNT WAS 0.30 INCHES, FALLING ON THE NINTH, ALL OF IT
RAIN. THE OTHER SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION EVENT OCCURRED BETWEEN THE
23D AND THE 26TH, AN ALL-SNOW EVENT. FOR THE MONTH 0.91 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION FELL, 0.67 INCHES BELOW NORMAL. TWO AND A HALF INCHES
OF SNOW FELL WHICH WAS 2.9 INCHES BELOW NORMAL SNOWFALL.
A NEVER-BEFORE RECORDED OCTOBER THUNDERSTORM STRUCK NOME ON THE
TENTH. THE STORM GAVE NOMITES A NOCTURNAL LIGHTNING SHOW, SOMETHING
COMMON IN THE LOWER 48 BUT RARE INDEED FOR WESTERN ALASKA. THE STORM
PASSED OVER NOME NEARLY AN HOUR AFTER SUNSET. IT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH
A LINE OF SHOWERS MOVING NORTHWESTWARD ONSHORE FROM NORTON SOUND.
THE HIGHEST GUST OF THE MONTH BLEW AT 40 MPH FROM THE EAST ON THE
TENTH.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE'S CLIMATE PREDICTION CALLS FOR A GREATER
PROBABILITY OF ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES OVER THE SEWARD PENINSULA
FOR NOVEMBER. NO SUCH SIGNATURE EXISTS FOR PRECIPITATION AND THUS
NORMAL LEVELS OF PRECIPITATION ARE EXPECTED FOR NOVEMBER.
JWA NOV 09
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