In Meaningful Terminology
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| The river is a short drive away. | The Bering Sea doesn't freeze smoothly |
Altitude
It's a short walk to the ocean beach.
Latitude
Nome is a half hour jet ride from the Arctic Circle. The plane you take to or from Nome, Alaska, might layover in Kotzebue, which is just north of the Arctic Circle. If so, you might have time to step out for a few minutes to take a picture of your family in front of the airport building by the sign with the words "Arctic Circle" in it . In the winter, "four hours of light" means the sun rises around 1 pm. in the afternoon and sets around 4 p.m.. Arctic latitude in the winter means you tape flashlights together and your kids run around the house with their Star Wars light sabers, turning off all the lights - as if it isn't dark enough. Arctic latitude in March means it's finally light enough outside to take the family snowmachining after dinner. In Nome, they say "snowmachining" instead of "snowmobiling." Arctic latitude in the summer means it's hard for you and your kids to fall asleep at night because the neighbor kids are playing outside at 2 in the morning.
Longitude
It's a short plane ride or a few days' sailboat journey to Russia's east coast, . Anybody who thinks they can ski to Russia on the winter ice is nutso. (There have been a few nuts that cost the Coast Guard time and money to come rescue them). At 11:00 p.m., the radio changes from English language to Russian. I once recognized the music to Peter and the Wolf.
Weather
Winter lasts eight months out of the year; from October to May, inclusive. The question is, "Will it snow on Halloween?" The frozen Bering Sea ice doesn't break up and leave the shore until late May. The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are often seen in the earliest part of the morning, when it's the coldest.Winter weather ranges from colder to coldest.
"Colder" means that if you stub your toe so hard you think it's broken, and you hobble by the hospital a few days later and see someone wearing an orthopedic sandle and several layers of socks, you tell yourself that no way are you going to tell anybody you think you broke your toe, "'cuz you ain't gonna wear no sandal when it's cold and there's snow."
"Coldest" means you can walk the few blocks to the Post Office, but walking the extra half block to the bank is asking way too much. You have to walk back home to warm up and go to the bank a few hours later. "Coldest" means that when you're walking outside, all you see are the eyes or goggles of the very few people you pass. "Coldest" means don't wear glasses or earrings, because they'll make you colder. Earrings and baby coats' loose neck snaps can cause frost bite. Glasses can give you a headache and fog up so you can't see where you're going. "Coldest" combined with "darkest" means that when you're outside singing tropical songs to keep warm, the song "Day O" takes on a whole new meaning. After two or three bouts of "coldest," the two degrees of "colder" is now "balmy."
Summer is about 14 scattered days, which is whittled away by accompanying rain that settles the dust on the unpaved roads. When summer weather reaches 70 degrees farenheit, it's the talk of the town. You can depend on 70 degree weather, sometimes higher, at least a few days out of the year.
Last updated March 20, 2006 by Debra Pearson