Most places already have spring. Up here in Fairbanks we kinda skip spring and go straight from snow into summer. No, that’s not quite right…let me explain the seasons of interior Alaska.

You have Summer. That one is pretty easy to recognize because there’s no snow on the ground and even though the sun does set the sky never gets dark. Summer runs from around Memorial Day through mid August. The first night it gets dark enough to see the stars is August 14th or thereabouts.

Then there’s Fall. This goes from late August until there’s snow on the ground. I have been told that the latest date on record for snow was October 19. Last year we got our first good dusting on September 19 and our first 6 inches on the following weekend. It was just in time for the wedding that rented out the entire property up at Basecamp. Those must have been gorgeous photos with the golden birch trees in the snow.

Snow means Winter. Winter means darkness. Well, at least for the first five months or so. The darkest part of dark winter is the winter solstice. Here in Fairbanks that means that the sun doesn’t rise until around 11am and sets at about 2:40pm. Even though the sun is only above the horizon for 3.5 hours though, there is over an hour of pre-dawn light and twilight, which gives us around 6 hours where the sky isn’t totally dark. Every minute of that time has color in the sky. I love it!

Light winter kicks in around Valentine’s day. That’s when you suddenly realize that it isn’t dark before dinner time and you might leave the house with the sunrise. It’s a great relief, but it also signals time to find your sunglasses. The sunlight reflected off of all that snow gets pretty bright.

That brings us to Breakup. Our version of spring. The roads are finally clear of ice. Mostly. The ones that aren’t yet clear are either slushy or polished shiny as glass. You have to be careful driving still. The snowbanks get plowed one more time to push them off the shoulders of the road so that meltwater doesn’t run across the road and turn to ice overnight. Parking lots are getting scraped clear and the thick chunks of ice are piled up to the side to melt. People bet on when the river ice will break up and move. Really! Look up the Nenana Ice Classic. I think it’s too late to buy in though. Pretty soon the creek will start to thaw out also. It’s a great time of year.

Spring? Yeah, I guess we get that too. The trees green up and the birds and squirrels get more active. Locals don’t talk about Spring though. It’s Breakup and Mud season. That’s because the ground thaws more slowly than the snow and the water doesn’t drain away very quickly. It takes until June to be fully out of Mud season and by then we are firmly into summer.

That’s the year up here. Was that clear enough? Clear as mud, right? That’s okay. The seasons, like so much else up here, are hard to wrap your head around until you experience them. It’s worth the visit.