the rainforest of

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Look at the bottom of this page for a larger picture and description.

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April 17, 2003

The weather was spectacular for approx. two weeks - sunny, dry and temperatures ranged from 50 to 60 degrees. Then it's started to rain again and the temperature has dropped to the mid 30s to 40s. When it's nice and sunny it gives one a sense of hope, and then it rains and washes away that hope for a decent summer. When it's nice like that we take advantage of the outside and do as much as possible. Sunny weather is so unpredictable here and it's hard to plan outside activities around it. So we learn how to do things in the rain, or (you could imagine) nothing would get done. Here's wishing you the summer of your dreams!

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February 11, 2003

It's been overcast for quite a while now. The rain has been coming and going, mostly sprinkling here and there, with a touch of fog. It hasn't snowed for about two weeks but it's cold enough that the snow hasn't all melted away (a few patches on the side of the streets).

It feels like spring is creeping up on us but the weather is very unpredictable, just about anytime now the temperature and snow could start falling again. Lately the temperature has been in between 35 to 40 degrees. The latest that I've seen it snow in Alaska is when I went to Anchorage for a meeting in May of 2001 and it snowed a full 6 inches in one day. It was incredible, one would have guessed that winter was just beginning.

We're starting to gain more day light now. The sun is now rising around 7 a.m. and setting around 5 p.m. I can't wait for the summer time, we'll have a lot more day light and will be able to do more outside activities. During the summer our longest daylight hours (in Juneau) will be approximately 19 hours - with the sun rising at 3:00 a.m and setting at 10:00 p.m. In Barrow, which is at the tip of Alaska, they have 24 hours of daylight during the peak of the summer and 24 hours of darkness during the peak of the winter.

Olivia

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January 6, 2003

This Christmas was the first white Christmas that we've had since 1994. It was awesome! However, it has since warmed up. The temperature is back to the mid-40s and it is raining. For the past few days it has been rather windy, with gusts up to 45 mph. Yesterday someone's metal roof to a shed was flying down our street, that was a little scary to say the least. The snow was a nice change, and I sure hope that it will come back before spring arrives.

Olivia

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November 6, 2002

The fog has lifted and we have finally received mail. It was nice and chilly for a while (no rain) but that didn't last long. Our temperature has risen and today it's raining. We had some excitement this weekend, there was an earth quake that hit just south of Fairbanks and we felt it in Juneau pretty good. They also felt the quake as far away as Seattle, WA and some parts of Louisiana. There are cracks in many of the roads and some pipeline supports were damaged. I have included a photo of a damaged road that I found at our local online newspaper - JuneauEmpire.com. Click here to view photo.

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October 25, 2002

For the past week our weather has consisted mainly of fog. It has been foggy from morning to night with very little visibility. It's that time of year when the weather is changing and starting to get a bit cooler.

The temperatures are in the 40's. This time of year is the worst for trying to leave or enter Juneau, as we don't have a road out of here.

Airplanes will have to overhead to Seattle or Anchorage and our mail is delayed. When it is foggy like this most of the time the weather above the fog consists of sun and blue skies. It's unfortunate that we get stuck with the fog all day, but at least it's not raining!

Olivia

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October 7, 2002

I've been really busy at work these past 6 weeks and also went on vacation. My husband and I flew to Seattle, WA, rented a car and went on a road trip to visit friends and family. It was such a wonderful fall vacation. We drove across Washington and Idaho to visit friends in Seeley Lake, Montana. Seeley Lake is in the Mountains and is just beautiful this time of year. We were there for just four days to spend some time with friends at their cabin. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and our husbands were able to squeeze in some golfing and fishing. After Montana we drove to Lebanon, Oregon, to visit my grandparents and family. My grandfather has a tree farm and every time we visit we survey the progress of the tree growth. The tree farm is situated on a hill of 40 acres and on a clear day you can see the Oregon Coast. The view is absolutely breathtaking.

After Oregon we drove back up to Washington to spend some time with my husband's family. We stayed with my husband's parents, they have a house on the water situated in Discovery Bay, close to Port Townsend. I wish we could have stayed longer to enjoy the fall weather of the great northwest. We had such a good time, we even started dreaming about buying a piece of property and eventually moving to the State of Washington. The weather in Washington is so much more agreeable and not as wet as Southeast Alaska. As you might have guessed, last night we came home to rainy weather, and it doesn't look like it's going to let up anytime soon. Most of our trees are pine and spruce (needle trees), we do have some poplar and other varieties of leafy trees and there is some change in color, but not as you would imagine a beautiful New England autumn day. I can't wait for the weather to turn frosty cold, as the rain will cease and the sky will become clear and the air crisp.

Sorry for such a delay!

Olivia

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October 01 - 05, 2002

It was 46° but feels like 39, with light rain falling. The forecast gave 10 to 100% chance of rain every day with only one day being at 10%. The lows were to be 38 to 42 and highs 48 to 53°F.

One section of the weather.com site will show you all the fall foliage driving tours. Click here to check out what is happening and where. (Nita)

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September 14 - 21, 2002

We people in drought areas cannot imagine how it would be to live with so much rainfall. Daytime gets up to 54 - 56, with lows 45 to 49. Rain is forecast everyday from 40 to 100%.

They had an all time record high of 90 back in July of 1975. In January of 1972, they were down to -22°F. (Nita)

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September 6 - 13, 2002

The forecast this week shows exactly the same as it was last week. The lows in the mid 40's and the highs in the mid 50's. Mostly cloudy to light rain, that's 20 to 80% chance every day. I did discover a unique ability of the website. If you scroll down the page, you will find a Feature, Scenic Drives. You pick the route and they tell you what the weather will be along your planned trip. (Nita)

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August 24 -31, 2002

I followed the link and the forecast for the week shows their area in for a week of highs in the mid to upper 50's and the lows in the mid to upper 40's. Lots of cloudy, cloudy with rain and more rain. (Nita)

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August 21, 2002

Did I mention we lived on the coast? Not only does it rain, but it blows! When I said that I live in a rainforest, I wasn't kidding. It's been raining for sometime now, and it doesn't look like it's going to stop anytime soon. Last night the wind started gusting at 20 to 30 mph (this amount of wind is normal, it can - and does - blow a lot harder).

When I got out of bed this morning I was surprised to see our garbage cans still intact and next to our front porch. When the wind blows, not only will it disperse the garbage cans and their contents all over the block, but it will often knock out the electricity...so far so good.

You can check out the weather at www.weather.com and insert the zip code 99801 to see what weather we're having in Juneau, Alaska (or any other community).

Have a great week!

Olivia

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August 12, 2002

It's raining today. We are having a downpour at this moment and the winds are picking up, it's currently 55 degrees. Over the next few days it's supposed to lighten up and the sun is supposed to start peaking through the clouds. I never believe the forecast, as the weather can change without notice, but I do have high hopes. As you might imagine, because it rains a lot, we must work in the rain, as we wouldn't accomplish anything if we waited for the sun to come out.

I'm sure being in a cool downpour is a lot nicer than being in 100 degree weather...

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August 5, 2002

I just got back from a wonderful lunch in the sun (73 degrees)! For the past few days we have had wonderful weather!

I live in 'Southeast' Alaska, which is a designated rain forest, and it rains a lot! So we never take the sun for granted and we enjoy every minute of it. Here in Southeast Alaska we don't have much of a cold winter, in fact, it's a lot more mild than you would think. Our winter temperatures range from 0-40 degrees and a lot of the time it just rains.

We rarely dip below the 0 degree marker. We also don't get as much snow as one might imagine. The more extreme weather is seen in the Central and Northern Regions, and Aleutian Islands of Alaska.

Olivia

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The following is a link to the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development's page of photos for Juneau (where I live in Southeast Alaska).

http://www.dced.state.ak.us/cbd/commdb/images/Juneau_Photos.htm

For pictures of other communities throughout Alaska go to:

http://www.dced.state.ak.us/cbd/commdb/CF_PhotoIndex.cfm

Have fun browsing!

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