FAR NORTH: CLIMATE AND WEATHER

In Alaska's far north, winter is long and severe, while
summer is short and intense. Although temperatures are
normally comfortable from June through mid-Aug., freez-
ing can occur even in summer. Winter lasts nine months,
and temperatures are low. There is little precipitation
and parts of this area are technically desert. Most
precipitation appears in summer as drizzle & fog. What
rain there is, falls mostly during Aug., on the south
side of the Brooks Range. In July, the mean high at
Bettles is 69 degrees F., while the mean low is 48 de-
grees F. However, the summer temperature can vary from
29 to 92 degrees. Snow--generally powdery and wind-
drifted--covers the ground Sept.-May.  Winds frequently
reach gale force & blow almost continually. At Barrow,
the northernmost point of the U.S., the normal daily
maximum temperature in July is 44 degrees F. The nor-
mal daily minimum in January is -24 degrees F. The sun
rises approximately May 10 and does not set until Aug.
2 in Barrow. When the sun disappears at noon  on Nov.
18, it will not appear again until approximately noon
on January 24.