Posted in Alaska Nature January 12, 2017 by Courtney

The Frustrating Natural Phenomenon Every Alaskan Has To Worry About Each Winter

This is one of those natural phenomena in the Last Frontier that isn’t welcomed with open arms. In fact, it’s actually quite the opposite – we loath it. Its dense nature makes it impossible for us to enjoy the beautiful views on our daily commute. Plus, it’s nearly impossible to navigate through without gripping onto the steering wheel for dear life.

Need to get something done? Forget about it! You’ll have to wait for the ice fog to pass. In Alaska, dealing with gnarly weather patterns is just a way of life and no matter how much we complain, we have no choice but to suck it up and deal with it. I think we can all agree that it’s a small price to pay for living in the best state in the nation.

We’re aware that these uncertain times are limiting many aspects of life. While we continue to feature destinations that make our state wonderful, please take proper precautions or add them to your bucket list to see at a later date. If you know of a local business that could use some extra support during these times, please nominate them here: onlyinyourstate.com/nominate

The natural weather phenomenon known as 'ice fog' is a type of fog that consists of fine ice crystals that essentially get suspended in the air.

This rare natural phenomenon happens most frequently in cold, arctic areas in the world, such as Alaska. Basically, what happens is water droplets get suspended in the air and can remain liquid down to −40 °F.

Ice fog is most common in interior and northern Alaska and it only takes formation under specific conditions; the humidity has to be near 100% and the air temperature below 32 °F.

This specific weather patter allows for the ice crystals to form in thin air. The ice crystals will then settle onto surfaces, making everything in sight sparkle like a glittery winter wonderland when the sun hits it.

Anyone who lives in Alaska knows exactly what we are talking about. Ice fog is a gnarly weather pattern that comes in like a wrecking ball and always puts a total damper in our outdoor plans and our daily commutes.

In fact, early settlers called ice fog 'white death' as they believed that the crystals would get into their lungs and cause death

You'll notice that ice fog is abundantly dense over frozen rivers and lakes throughout the Last Frontier. Places like the Knik River, Chena River and Kenai Lake are known for having very dense ice fog in the winter months.

Even in the middle of places like the Arctic Ocean and the Chukchi Sea, ice fog can set in thick and bring all transportation to a complete halt.

Oftentimes when you're driving through metropolitan areas you'll be able to mask the powerfulness of ice fog as city lights brighten up your direct line of sight.

People working in remote arctic areas in Alaska regularly experience the effects ice fog has on their daily outside routines in the oilfield.

In fact, no matter where you are located in the 49th state, if you have a year-round outdoor job in Alaska your productivity will likely be effected by ice fog multiple times throughout the winter months.

If you are an avid outdoors enthusiast, you might even experience ice fog up-close-and-personal high into the mountains when you're out enjoying a winter hike or skiing adventure.

For a more ‘up close and personal’ look at how thick ice fog can get and how challenging it is to drive in, be sure to check out the excellent YouTube video below.