Even Alaskans say it's COOOOLD!

Well, blog fans, I was roaming El Net tonight and found a fun AP article out of Alaska. Check this snippet: "Johnson lives in Stevens Village, where residents have endured close to two weeks of temperatures pushing 60 below zero." The article goes on to talk about how the temps have been very low throughout Alaska for a very long period of time this year.

Hum....that sure sounds like what you would expect after all that volcanic ash spewed forth from the Aleutians this summer. Well, I guess the chickens are coming home to roost!

I really love this quote: "I've never seen it this cold for this long," he said. "I remember it 70 below one time, but not for a week and a half."

Even people in Anchorage are complaining. They are apparently accustomed to temps in the low single digits this time of year. However, it's been about -20 and they aren't happy. If the volcanic ash is the root cause of this cold regime, guess what? It's going to continue unabated well into spring time, perhaps even next summer.

Meanwhile, each kinky jetstream that dares dip down into the Lower 48 is going to bring abnormally cold air. When these jetstreams happen to collide with your basic Neighborhood Wadzilla coming across the Pacific, then the areas underneath such collisions are going to get some real epic snowfall and the inherent issues that come with such snowfall.

Even though it appears we are due for a mid-winter break since the jetstream is now zonal and a high pressure system is building over the Great Basin and Southwest, the winter is FAR from over. The abnormally cold air mass engulfing Alaska simply isn't going anywhere. It's up there to stay for weeks and most likely months. Why? Because that volcanic ash continues to circle the globe at the Arctic latitudes.

Meanwhile, the water vapor patterns will continue in much the same way as they have so far this winter. It's not a matter of "IF" the Lower 48 will get body slammed again--only a matter of "WHEN!"