Walker Alaskan Ranger: "Snow-i-cane"

The weather here has been crazy the past few days… It has usually been in the 20s to low 30s. Yesterday, a bad storm was predicted for the entire district. A storm warning was sent to all the schools informing the teachers what to do in case of an emergency. The weather forecast was calling the storm a "snowicane." Apparently, we come up to the school (because the school is on a huge generator) and the rest of the village comes to the school. The teachers help everyone get situated and placed in classrooms kind of like a hotel.

Between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m., the temperature dropped down to -6 degrees. The winds picked up to over 50 miles an hour! Nichole and I were cooking dinner and sat down to eat our meal and watch some TV. Then, our house started shaking. We both looked at each other with confused faces and asked simultaneously “Was that the wind?” We dropped our plates and ran to the window to see gusts of snow blowing across the ground and up into the air. Snowmobiles were rocking back and forth. Power lines looked like jump ropes being swung around. It was creepy. So, we grabbed our coats, put on our boots, and went outside… far from the power lines, of course. The wind smacked our faces as soon as we stepped on our porch. Eskimos were out walking and completing their normal errands for the day. Nichole and I were yelling and laughing at the absurd weather. Dogs were running around, rolling in the snow, and barking… Just another day in the bush.

Later that night, I was getting in bed to go to sleep. Before I turned out my lights, my lamp started moving back and forth on my nightstand. The hangers in my closet were shaking and bumping into each other causing a rattling sound that somewhat resembled a wind chime. The wind was hitting the tin roof causing a vibrant howling and rattling which seemed to even echo. The pipes in the walls were clattering on every side of my room making loud “ting,” “tang,” “BAM” noises with no particular pattern. My bed was shaking. I was shaking… not just from the bed moving, but also because the eerie sounds and bizarre movements sent shivers up my spine. IT WAS SO COOL! It was “so cool” until 3:00 a.m. rolled around. By then, the “once cool noises” soon became equivalent to the sounds of a junior high garage band with no prior music experience surrounding my bed. SO NOT COOL.

The next day, the weather shot up to the high 30s and a lot of the snow melted. The day began with some snow and the winds picked up to 20-30 miles per hour. Then within 10 minutes, the snow turned to rain. The snow on the ground began to melt. The ice that formed on the river began to melt. An hour later, it was snowing again.

Basically, the temperature has been between -6 to 35 degrees here. The wind has been between 10-50 mph. There was about 2 feet of snow on the ground… then it melted really quickly… then it snowed again. So, we have had over two feet of snow. Also, the sun rises at around 10:00a.m. and it sets around 5:00p.m.

Look who showed up at school!!!!!!