As of tonight, the temperature at the official thermometer at Fairbanks International Airport has not risen above freezing during the month of March. Or February. Or January. On one day in December, during a chinook wind, the temperature got above freezing for a few hours. Then it got cold again.

Martha Shulski of the Alaska Climate Research Center crunched some numbers for March, so far. She found that Fairbanks, with an average temp of -8.3 F this month, has never been colder as long as records have been kept here. Anchorage has a new record cold March too, with 13.5 degrees. Another spot with long-term records and its coldest March so far is Gulkana, at -1.1 F.

Looking at the forecast, it looks like some ice and snow might melt here in about a week or so. Sigh. It's been a good run.

I'm checking the weather at Nabesna and McCarthy now using my favorite source, a map of AK with temps of lots of villages, also produced by Martha: http://climate.gi.alaska.edu/Wx/current.html

My friend Andy and I drive down for the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic on Saturday. We're grinning at a forecast with numbers in the 30s that don't have a minus in front of them.