Update II
Update I
Original post:
That was our March 31, 2008 headline.
I promised myself that this year I wouldn't have to say :
"...Apologies for such short notice. All bets were locked April 5. "Here's the Official Website of the Nenana Ice Classic 2009
Last year's winners split $303,895.00. We ended our coverage with "The Nenana Ice Classic is Over":
The Tanana River officially went out on May 6th, 2008 at 10:53 pm Alaska Standard Time.The weather has been a bit cooler this year (Fairbanks is 56 miles upstream of Nenana):
This was the 35th latest breakup of the 92 years of the contest.
What does this tell us about global warming?
Well, we titled our first post "Big Global Warming/Cooling/Staying Pretty Much the Same Betting Opportunity"
Weather for Fairbanks, AK - |
-4°F Current: Mostly Cloudy Wind: NE at 9 mph Humidity: 50% Mon  Tue  Wed -7°F | -27°F Thu |
 | Tonight Partly cloudy. Lows 20 below to 25 below zero. Northeast winds 5 to 15 mph... except 15 to 25 mph on the hills with wind chills to 55 below. |
 | Tuesday Partly cloudy. Highs 5 below to 5 above zero. Northeast winds 10 to 20 mph. Wind chill to 55 below in the morning. |
 | Tuesday Night Mostly cloudy. Lows 15 below to 25 below. Northeast winds 10 to 20 mph. Wind chill to 45 below. |
Weather Underground also has heating degree day information.
(there have been no cooling degree days this season)
| Since 1 July heating degree days | 11565 vs. 2008's 10881 |
While KTVA-TV and the Anchorage Daily News follow the drama, aficionados prefer the Fairbanks News Miner for raw, nail biting excitement (March 9, '09):
Nenana celebrates spring with style
...The annual festival adds an element to the coming spring, transforming Nenana’s civic center into the town’s living room so neighbors can get reacquainted and, for those willing to spend some time outside, kick off the famous Nenana Ice Classic contest.
The weekend festival brought its usual events. The 100-mile snowmachine race drew 16 contestants; Nenana locals beat the visitors in the Main Street tug-of-war.
There also were new events.
“Are you read to walk? OK, let’s trade potatoes!” Brenda Maxfield called through the microphone to start one round in Sunday’s potato race. (Each contestant had to cross the center’s wood floor pinching a potato between his or her knees. Hands weren’t allowed. Neither was cheating.)
The celebration has been around for years, and the Ice Classic — a lottery where entrants guess when the Classic’s tall, black-and-white marker breaks from its ice housing on the Tanana River — began in 1917, the same year the United States entered World War I....
We'll have periodic updates.
