last sunrise/sunset for Barrow Alaska

[tropicana]

The sun sets tonight in Barrow Alaska at 2:06am (May 11) and rises right back up at 2:41am (May 11), staying just below the horizon for just 35 minutes, making it essentially the shortest night for the city of Barrow.

It will be the last sunrise there until August 2 2007. The sun will stay slightly above the horizon all night long, a sure sign that summer is approaching. The prolonged daylight however, will have limited effect on the weather in Barrow, the nation's northernmost town.
The summer sun will be obscured by clouds nearly 80% of the time. The nearby Arctic Ocean typically remains covered with ice until late July, keeping the average temp. at just 33F during the reign of the midnight sun.

For an example what little effect the prolonged sunlight has, consider this... the high temp yesterday in Barrow (May 9 2007) was just 17F, the low was 12F, and there was a trace of snow that fell.

-justin-

[TampaSteve]

Yeah, seasons up near the Arctic Circle can be bizarre...I have been to Alaska in both the summer and winter...I've seen it get dark at 3 in the afternoon, and I've seen it never get dark at all...it really messes with your internal clock...in the summertime, it LOOKS like it's 6 in the afternoon, when in reality, it's 11 pm. Strange.

[Bunkertor]

So you can party all night long !

[TampaSteve]

So you can party all night long !

Heh heh...yeah, like my buddy Frank said when we were in Anchorage, "You know, when you come out of a bar at 11 o'clock at night and you have to put on sunglasses, you know there's something wrong!"

[simplykristi]

I have had relatives live in AK for nearly the last 30 years. It is interesting to hear them talk about the sunlight and darkness.

Kristi

[Bunkertor]

So you can party all night long !

Heh heh...yeah, like my buddy Frank said when we were in Anchorage, "You know, when you come out of a bar at 11 o'clock at night and you have to put on sunglasses, you know there's something wrong!"

So when you return from bar at 11 pm something definately must have gone the wrong way...muahahahahahah

[TampaSteve]

So you can party all night long !

Heh heh...yeah, like my buddy Frank said when we were in Anchorage, "You know, when you come out of a bar at 11 o'clock at night and you have to put on sunglasses, you know there's something wrong!"

So when you return from bar at 11 pm something definately must have gone the wrong way...muahahahahahah

Naaah...we were heading to the strip club!

[Bunkertor]

So you can party all night long !

Heh heh...yeah, like my buddy Frank said when we were in Anchorage, "You know, when you come out of a bar at 11 o'clock at night and you have to put on sunglasses, you know there's something wrong!"

So when you return from bar at 11 pm something definately must have gone the wrong way...muahahahahahah

Naaah...we were heading to the strip club!

That must be a nice experience, getting freezed on the pole... Poor girls.

[TampaSteve]

So you can party all night long !

Heh heh...yeah, like my buddy Frank said when we were in Anchorage, "You know, when you come out of a bar at 11 o'clock at night and you have to put on sunglasses, you know there's something wrong!"

So when you return from bar at 11 pm something definately must have gone the wrong way...muahahahahahah

Naaah...we were heading to the strip club!

That must be a nice experience, getting freezed on the pole... Poor girls.

It was July...the temps were in the 70s...far from freezing...

[Dionne]

Justin.....your use of the numbers is misleading. I worked and lived in Prudhoe Bay (300 miles above the Arctic Circle) which is east of Point Barrow. 33F is a very pleasant temp in Barrow. It is also not unusual to enjoy daytime highs in the 50's. The increased sunlight has a dramatic affect on the seasonal temps when you consider the dark winter ambient temps. It is true that at midnight the sun is directly overhead. One item you failed to mention about the north slope is the wind. There are NEVER any calm days. The most remarkable thing about the high north latitudes in the summer months are the migratory birds. They are everywhere!!!

[TampaSteve]

Justin.....your use of the numbers is misleading. I worked and lived in Prudhoe Bay (300 miles above the Arctic Circle) which is east of Point Barrow. 33F is a very pleasant temp in Barrow. It is also not unusual to enjoy daytime highs in the 50's. The increased sunlight has a dramatic affect on the seasonal temps when you consider the dark winter ambient temps. It is true that at midnight the sun is directly overhead. One item you failed to mention about the north slope is the wind. There are NEVER any calm days. The most remarkable thing about the high north latitudes in the summer months are the migratory birds. They are everywhere!!!

Uh, that's not possible in Barrow, AK. In fact, it's not possible for the sun to be directly overhead at any time if you're not between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Above the Arctic Circle, during the summer the sun travels low in the sky during the "nighttime" hours, but never sets. It doesn't even get close to being "directly overhead".

[Scorpion]

I really want to go up there during the summer to experience that

[TampaSteve]

I really want to go up there during the summer to experience that

It's bizarre, that's for sure...I guess if you grew up there, you'd be used to it, but to us "Lower 48ers", it can be rather strange.

[Extremeweatherguy]

I will be in SE Alaska in early July. Though the days will not be quite as long there, it will still be weird to have 18-20 hour periods of sunlight. I am certainly not used to that having lived in the southern U.S. most of my life.

[tropicana]

i wish i can experience it too.

[Dionne]

Justin.....your use of the numbers is misleading. I worked and lived in Prudhoe Bay (300 miles above the Arctic Circle) which is east of Point Barrow. 33F is a very pleasant temp in Barrow. It is also not unusual to enjoy daytime highs in the 50's. The increased sunlight has a dramatic affect on the seasonal temps when you consider the dark winter ambient temps. It is true that at midnight the sun is directly overhead. One item you failed to mention about the north slope is the wind. There are NEVER any calm days. The most remarkable thing about the high north latitudes in the summer months are the migratory birds. They are everywhere!!!

Uh, that's not possible in Barrow, AK. In fact, it's not possible for the sun to be directly overhead at any time if you're not between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Above the Arctic Circle, during the summer the sun travels low in the sky during the "nighttime" hours, but never sets. It doesn't even get close to being "directly overhead".

I don't ever recall seeing the sun low on the horizon during the month of June near the Beaufort Sea/Arctic ocean. In the middle of the "night" you can look to the south and in the far distance you can see the tops of the Brooks Range.

[TampaSteve]

Justin.....your use of the numbers is misleading. I worked and lived in Prudhoe Bay (300 miles above the Arctic Circle) which is east of Point Barrow. 33F is a very pleasant temp in Barrow. It is also not unusual to enjoy daytime highs in the 50's. The increased sunlight has a dramatic affect on the seasonal temps when you consider the dark winter ambient temps. It is true that at midnight the sun is directly overhead. One item you failed to mention about the north slope is the wind. There are NEVER any calm days. The most remarkable thing about the high north latitudes in the summer months are the migratory birds. They are everywhere!!!

Uh, that's not possible in Barrow, AK. In fact, it's not possible for the sun to be directly overhead at any time if you're not between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Above the Arctic Circle, during the summer the sun travels low in the sky during the "nighttime" hours, but never sets. It doesn't even get close to being "directly overhead".

I don't ever recall seeing the sun low on the horizon during the month of June near the Beaufort Sea/Arctic ocean. In the middle of the "night" you can look to the south and in the far distance you can see the tops of the Brooks Range.

Okay, that's great that you can see the mountains...but the sun is still low in the sky, especially at "midnight"...it is geometrically impossible for the sun to be anywhere near the zenith at any time on any day of the year if you are north of the Arctic Circle. Prudhoe Bay is located at 70°19'32" North latitude, so the highest the sun ever gets in the sky at any time during the year is at local noon on the day of the Summer Solstice, when the sun is about 43.5° above the horizon, or about halfway up the sky. At local midnight on that same day, the sun is only about 4.5° above the horizon (taking atmospheric refraction into account). Barrow is located at 71°18'1" North latitude, only about 1° North of Prudhoe Bay, so the Sun's altitude is almost the same (1° lower at noon and 1° higher at midnight). Again, if you spent time up there in Prudhoe Bay and/or Barrow, you should have seen the sun low in the sky, because it is low in the sky most of the time. I have been to the Arctic myself a few times, so I have first-hand experience with this.

[Dionne]

TampaSteve.....you had me going there for awhile. I started looking at your numbers and clearly you talk like your an expert on the math. But your math doesn't correspond with what I recall. So just for the hell of it I checked on YouTube.....and searched "midnight sun"......up popped some guy in Anchorage doing a film with shots at 11:30Pm and midnight on June 5. This is 800 miles south of prudhoe and 16 days before the solstice. The visible sunlight is up around 15 degrees. While your numbers may very well work in theory that is not what is percieved on the ground at these locations.

Hey....I just noticed.....make a donation.

[oceancounty]

I agree! I really have to get up to Alaska during that season. It must be really wild to experience the extended periods of daylight or darkness. I'll get there someday.

[TampaSteve]

TampaSteve.....you had me going there for awhile. I started looking at your numbers and clearly you talk like your an expert on the math. But your math doesn't correspond with what I recall. So just for the hell of it I checked on YouTube.....and searched "midnight sun"......up popped some guy in Anchorage doing a film with shots at 11:30Pm and midnight on June 5. This is 800 miles south of prudhoe and 16 days before the solstice. The visible sunlight is up around 15 degrees. While your numbers may very well work in theory that is not what is percieved on the ground at these locations.

When you say "visible sunlight", do you mean the actual disk of the sun, or just the extent of the twilight? You see, I have actually been in Anchorage, AK during June and July, including the Summer Solstice, and I can tell you from first-hand experience that the sun sets around 11:45 pm and rises again around 4:00 am during that time of year in Anchorage. If the picture or video shows the actual disk of the sun 15 degrees above the horizon, then it was taken well before the sun reached its lowest point in the sky, which is below the horizon. Between sunset and sunrise, the sun is just below the horizon, so you get this perpetual twilight for several hours until the sun rises again. You watched a video on YouTube...I have actually been there. My original point still stands.