Santa might want to leave Alaska early: Cold records pile up across state

By SUZANNE DOWNING

If Santa Claus is checking the thermometer before heading out this morning, Alaska may be nudging him toward a speedy trip across the state tonight.

At North Pole, Alaska, it was -3° — cold, but not exactly headline material by Interior standards. Elsewhere, however, Alaska has been busy reminding everyone what winter is capable of. Chicken, Alaska plunged to -62° on Monday, before “warming” to a comparatively mild -18°.

Southeast Alaska, normally spared the Interior’s deep freezes, has been having an unusually brisk stretch of its own. The Juneau International Airport set yet another daily record low, hitting -10° on Dec. 23, breaking the previous record for that date.

That cold snap comes with some notable historical context. With the Dec. 23 low, Juneau logged five days below zero in December 2025. The last time the airport saw five or more subzero days in a single winter season was 2006–2007, when there were six. Even more striking: from the winter of 2009–2010 until this month, Juneau recorded only three total days below zero.

In other words, the capital city has experienced more subzero days in the past two weeks than in the previous 16 winters combined.

For perspective, the all-time record for Juneau remains 29 days below zero, set during the famously cold winter of 1968–1969, before most Alaskans were born.

Santa’s travels through northern Southeast may require extra layers. Along the Klondike Highway near White Pass, an Extreme Cold Warning is in effect until noon today. Wind chills have dropped to -45°, with Skagway and Dyea seeing wind chills around 25 below early this morning.

Thus, if Santa plans to head south toward the Lower 48 via the Klondike route, he may want to zip up tight. And Skagwegians may want to leave out some extra cookies for the Jolly Old Elf, who will not need to count his calories tonight.

Meanwhile, Alaska’s weather contrasts remain on full display: Out on the Aleutian Islands, Adak, Atka, and Shemyawere enjoying a positively balmy 41 degrees this morning — bathing suit weather, practically.

To follow Santa on his journey across the globe, here is the NORAD Santa tracker website link.