A windy day in Wasilla

Wow, outside of being up in the mountains, or being in the Turnagain Arm area, today is the windiest day I've ever experienced in Alaska. The sky is mostly sunny, which is a nice break from the overcast skies and rain we've had for the last few days. But the wind ... it may only be 25-30 mph, but when you're not in the mountains here, one of the noticeable things about Alaska is the lack of wind and storms.

Because the weather here usually doesn't change much from one day to the next, there's usually very little wind to speak of, but in going from completely overcast skies to mostly sunny, there is a lot of wind here today. As usual I have the apartment windows open, but not as open as they normally are, and the cottonwood is flying around outside. It looks like a light snow that is being blown up, down, and sideways.

Dark skies and fireworks

In another note, a friend in the Lower 48 sent me a video of fireworks in his neighborhood. That's the first time I've seen a black sky since ... well, I don't know when ... March or April, I suppose.

Wasilla had some fireworks at midnight on July 3rd, but at least one other town won't have their Independence Day fireworks until November or December. Part of that is because it's too light here to really enjoy the fireworks in July, and another part of it is to give people something to celebrate in the winter.