BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Excerpt from Steve Quinn's article

"Extreme cold slams Alaska"

By STEVE QUINN

(Published January 07, 2009 - Fort Mill Times)

National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Brown said a "ridge" of sorts has developed over much of central Alaska east toward Canada. That keeps other weather patterns from moving through. New conditions get pushed north or south while the affected area faces daily extremes.

"When it first started almost two weeks ago, it wasn't anything abnormal," Brown said. "About once or twice every year, we get a good cold snap.

"But, in this case, you can call this an extreme event. This is rare. It doesn't happen every year."

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Flash then to CIMSS Satellite Blog on 31 Dec - http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/goes/blog/page/6

Which begs the question - "Any 2009 Hurricane Predictions Yet?" I have not seen Colorado State's January 2009 predictions yet...

BB