The darkness of arctic winters started descending on us in Fairbanks a few months ago but the cold never really hit as expected. Sure, up till now we've had temperatures hovering around zero Fahrenheit but that's considered comfortable this time of year. Yesterday was the end of the balmy weather as the temperature started to drop deep into the negatives. This morning we woke to -32 degrees Fahrenheit on the thermometer outside our window. Now this is what arctic winters are all about! While this may sound bad, -32 is still 20 degrees warmer than the record lows we have been here for (-52 F) a few years back. Think about that for a moment...... -52 F means things could warm up seventy-nine degrees and still be below freezing! While we are finally getting the cold that is expected for this time of year, we are also witnessing the rapid return of day light. Our shortest day gives us about 3 1/2 hours of sun above the horizon on winter solstice (Dec. 21). We are passed that marker so every day will be brighter than the previous for the next six months. Today the sun was above the horizon just shy of 5 hours with a gain of close to 6 minutes a day. Damn that feels good, it's coming back fast.
