Table 9. — 3:00 p.m. wind direction classes by number of days per month 



(Av. 1950-58) 



Weather 









Wind direction 









station 



N 



NE 



E 



at 



c 

 o 



C\ A/ 



o W 



W 



NW 



Calm 













May 











Anchorage 



1.6 



0.8 



0.7 



4.9 



9.0 



2.2 



6.6 



4.9 



0.3 



nil 1 



Bethel 



3.9 



1 .6 



4.5 



3.6 



6.1 



2.0 



2.1 



6.6 



.6 



Fa i rba n ks 



2.6 



4.4 



3.9 



O 7 



A 1 

 4. 1 



0.0 



3.8 



2.8 



1 .2 



Fort Yukon 



1.1 



14.0 



2.0 



1 ./ 



1 . 1 



^ 7 

 3./ 



4.4 



1.0 



.0 



Galena 



7.3 



2.8 



5.6 



1 .0 



T 7 



0.4 



2.1 



2.0 



2.3 



McGrath 



4.7 



2.7 



5.4 



1 A 



1 .o 



A A 

 4.4 



/I A 

 4.0 



3.2 



4.0 



.4 



Northway 



3.0 



.7 



2.6 



7 

 Z./ 



1 7 



Q 7 



4.2 



9.8 



1.6 













June 











Anchorage 



2.6 



0.4 



0.1 



2.4 



5.8 



3.2 



9.0 



6.3 



0.2 



n j. I i 



Bethel 



2.6 



2. 1 



2.3 



2.3 



7 .0 



4.7 



2.7 



5.9 



.4 



Fairbanks 



1.7 



2.8 



1.9 



1 A 

 1 .o 



o.o 



7 7 



6.3 



2.7 



2.0 



Fort Yukon 



1.2 



8.3 



1.0 



1 n 



1 .u 



1 A 

 1 .0 



7 n 

 / .u 



8.3 



1.6 



.0 



Galena 



3.2 



1.3 



2.6 



1 .V 



2./ 



/ .O 



3.2 



4.1 



3.2 



McGrath 



3.7 



2.7 



3.1 



O 



.y 



7 



o./ 



0. 1 



3.3 



3.2 



1.3 



Northway 



3.9 



1.2 



1.4 



A 



2. 1 



z.4 



7.1 



8.2 



1.3 













July 











Anchorage' 



3.3 



1.0 



0.2 



2.1 



3.0 



3.8 



8.7 



7.4 



0.8 



Bethel 



2.4 



2.1 



1.7 



1.6 



9.5 



5.2 



3.0 



5.2 



.3 



Fairbanks' 



1.3 



2.1 



1.4 



2.2 



3.6 



6.0 



8.6 



2.4 



2.0 



Fort Yukon 



.8 



5.1 



1.1 



1.2 



2.1 



8.7 



9.7 



2.2 



.1 



Galena 



2.2 



.8 



1.5 



1.2 



4.1 



7.5 



4.0 



3.8 



5.9 



McGrath 



2.6 



1.7 



1.6 



2.8 



8.9 



5.6 



3.4 



3.1 



1.3 



Northway 



3.0 



1.8 



2.4 



2.1 



1.8 



2.8 



4.8 



10.1 



2.2 



Six days' records missing. 



ly true for inland and coastal areas. The amount 

 or extent of cover gradually increases from April 

 through August. 



The interior of Alaska experiences few days 

 during May through July when the ceiling is 

 lower than 1,000 feet. More often the ceiling 

 height is greater than 10,000 feet. During Au- 

 gust, when there is more rainfall, the ceiling is 

 lower and visibility is materially reduced. 



Both smoke and haze affect surface weather 

 somewhat but not nearly as much as they affect 

 fire control activities. Reduced visibility makes fire 

 detection more difficult. Most interior stations 



report some visibility reduction in June due to 

 smoke haze; the effect is greater after July 1. 



Thunderstorms present a double danger. 

 First, they cause lightning fires. Second, the 

 presence of a fully developed cell may cause 

 high velocity downdraft winds that often make 

 fires behave erratically and burn out of control 

 in almost any direction. Available thunderstorm 

 data were inadequate for useful analysis, since 

 routine weather records indicate only thunder 

 that is actually heard by the observer, and thus 

 encompasses an area with a radius of a very 

 few miles. 



31 



