West Region: Juneau, AK
"Toughest Weather City"
In my opinion, Juneau, Alaska has taken the most interesting journey to
the Final Four.
In the first two rounds, they dispelled any notion that desert heat is
"tougher" than almost 2 in 3 days with precipitation...in
Alaska. After all, the "Cactus League" exists for a reason,
They next had to climb over the much colder Alaskan interior city of Fairbanks
in an intrastate skirmish.
Finally, they matched up against Lake Tahoe and the Sierra, while the
Sierra was getting clobbered by a series of storms wringing out epic
snow totals in feet
Arguably America's most unique state capital, no roads lead to Juneau
You need to either fly into Juneau Int'l Airport, ride the state-owned
ferry, or arrive, as many visitors via cruise ship.
The Alaskan Panhandle sits in the crosshairs of a dominant storm
track. Particularly in the colder months, a dominant "Aleutian low
funnels storm after storm into the area.
See data: Juneau
average temperatures and precipitation
If sufficiently cold air is in place, heavy snow is the result.
If not, then a soaking rain.
Juneau can get cold too. This usually occurs when Arctic air from
northwest Canada squeezes through local mountain passes and over nearby
Repeated freezing and thawing can leave city streets with compacted ice
in the winter. You saw how cities in the Southern U.S. dealt with
that scenario this past winter, but in Juneau, it's "just the way
things are". Fortunately, by the middle of April, most of the
snow cover is melted.
There are also periods even in mid-winter when high pressure dominates
Alaska and the north Pacific, allowing skies to clear in the Alaska
Panhandle, except for some patchy fog.
by the numbers
Total votes in tournament so far: 22,711
Tournament history: Beat Phoenix (1st round), Yuma
(2nd round), Fairbanks (Sweet 16), Tahoe/Sierra (Elite 8); Lost to
Fargo (Final 4)
Average annual snow: 84.1"
Record daily snowfall: 30.6" (Mar. 21, 1948)
Days per year with rain and/or snow: 226
Average % possible sunshine yearly: 30%
* 2006 Estimate