Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Extreme temps at Eielson AFB

I think the coldest I've been in was January 2000. It was -67 F according to the AWOS at the Tanana airport. Which wasn't such a big deal in itself, but the cold snap that brought it lasted for about 3 weeks eventually starting to overpower heating systems that weren't burning wood.

My first exposure to real sustained cold was during the Brim Frost '89 joint exercise. I was attached to another unit which was camped out in the hills north of Eielson AFB. Night time temps got down to about -55 F and come up above (slightly) -40 F during the day. At least we were above the ice fog. The poor bastards that were down on the Flats along the Tanana River got the worst of it. Their lows were around -70 F unofficially and I doubt they climbed much higher than that during the day. Plus they were enveloped in ice fog. That schitt takes on the flavor of car exhaust, woodsmoke and diesel/heating oil exhaust after a while and you can taste it just by breathing through your mouth. We came back in from the field a couple of weeks later, and I recall how "warm" -20 F felt.