Dear Tom,
In Alaska, when you’re far enough north that the sun doesn’t set, what pattern does the sun’s path trace in the sky? What about in winter?
Smith Siromaskul, Salem, Ore.
Dear Smith,
North of the Arctic Circle (66.5 degrees north latitude), Alaska is truly the land of the midnight sun. Through much of the summer, the sun dips toward but stays above the horizon at midnight, and climbs up to 47 degrees above the horizon at solar noon. At the winter solstice, this region is the land of permanent midnight. Just below the Arctic Circle lies Fairbanks, where the sun appears just above the horizon. Today’s sunrise occurs at 10:56 a.m. in the SSE sky, with sunset at 2:52 p.m. in the SSW. The sun climbs a scant 2.4 degrees above the southern horizon at 12:55 p.m. As winter progresses, daylight lengthens and the sun climbs a bit higher each day; this trend accelerates as the spring equinox nears.
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Tom Skilling is chief meteorologist at WGN-TV. His forecasts can be seen Monday through Friday on WGN-TV News at noon and 9 p.m.
Write to: ASK TOM WHY, 2501 Bradley Pl., Chicago, IL 60618 or asktomwhy@wgntv.com (Mail volume precludes personal response.)
WGN-TV meteorologists Steve Kahn, Richard Koeneman and Paul Dailey plus weather producer Bill Snyder contribute to this page.
