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Tonight: Clear. Lows 10 below to 20 below. Local east winds 15 to 30 mph. Wind chill to 35 below.

The wind has been really been an issue the last couple days in and around Fairbanks. It has been cold. Eastern Montana cold.

I frequently tell friends and family in the lower 48 that they are better off spending a winter in Fairbanks than my childhood home in eastern Montana. This is due to wind. There isn't any in Fairbanks. Ever. The wind is currently blowing a modest 15 mph, which is basically a calm day on the Great Plains. No snow is drifting, the trees are barely moving, but it is bone chilling cold.

Here is the link to U.S. wind speed averages on the official gov't NOAA website.

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/avgwind.html

Notice:

The annual average wind speed in Fairbanks, Alaska is 5.4 mph and the average wind speed for the winter months is significantly lower than that.

Glasgow, Montana (which is not my home town, but close enough) has an annual average wind speed of 10.7 mph.

Having grown up in an area where the wind always blows I have never put much stock in wind chill factors. On my scale it's the kind of cold that makes your bladder contract as soon as it hits you. Call it -60 on the Coldfoot scale.