The Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta is beginning to thaw out after the region’s longest and most intense cold snap in nearly 15 years. That’s according to Alaska climate specialist Rick Thoman, speaking on Jan. 14.
“We really have to go back to 2012 to find sustained winds and temperatures lower than we had just the last couple days in the region,” Thoman said.
Across the region, wind chills hovered around 50 degrees below zero for multiple days, reaching -58 degrees Fahrenheit at Bethel’s airport. Thoman said that it gave the Y-K Delta a sample of weather typical of the North Slope this time of year…