Fact Checking the Alaska Tourism Page

I am leaving for Fairbanks and Anchorage Alaska in about two weeks. Because of that I have spent a lot of time looking around the internet for information about the place at this time of year.

The Travel Alaska website reads like the Iraqi Information Minister:

"It’s neither as dark nor as cold as you might expect. Winter brings 6-13 hours of daylight, depending on where you are, sandwiched between a ton of twilight on one end and endless dawns on the other. And with average temperatures around 20°F, winter enthusiasts can enjoy Alaska in complete comfort."

As I write this, the Temperature in Fairbanks is -29F. Earlier today it was -42F. Anchorage is a great deal warmer than Fairbanks but right now it is at -9F. The average hours of daylight in Fairbanks during January is 4. In much of the state there is no daylight at all.

They must be assuming that any tourists during the winter will stay in Juneau. It probably is an accurate statement in the southern reaches of the state. Surprisingly the winter temperatures are almost identical to the averages I faced in upstate New York. Juneau only gets down to 6 hours 30 minutes of daylight during January and is currently a rather reasonable 34 degrees.