Arctic Desert

Sorry I have not posted a lot lately--I'm still playing catch up from being out of town. We also had an inservice day on Saturday, which made the weekend fly by more quickly than usual! Saturday was also our first day for intramural basketball. Basketball is really big with all the kids here. The middle school only has intramural teams, plus a traveling varsity team for basketball that fundraises to be able to fly out to a big tournament each fall. Mr. Tundrateacher is coaching a team this year. Unfortunately, they didn't win their first game, but everyone still had a good time. Next Saturday, we will take the boys out for pizza after the game.

One of the commenters, Cavatica, pointed out that our average annual snowfall is actually less than where she lives. I happen to know where she lives, and it is not in Antarctica! She lives in an average, four seasons of the year, lower 48 state. And she is absolutely correct--we do not get as much snowfall as many places in the lower 48. Each year, Chicago gets way more snow than we do.

So why is that? The Arctic is actually considered a desert because of the amount of precipitation we get here. However, it is not so much because it is too cold to snow. Snow can occur even at very cold temperatures, but most snowfall occurs at temperatures just below freezing since warmer air can hold more water vapor, which is necessary for the white fluffy stuff. The air here can be very dry, and does not hold a lot of moisture, which is why it does not snow as much.

When we do get snow, though, it falls and does not melt--it stays with us throughout the winter and spring. So it appears as though we have more snow than most places because it is always around!

This week's challenge: Check out the average temperature and snowfall for three different towns in Alaska and compare them.