Snow Day

Looking out across the Tanana Valley

Spring took an interesting turn last night. With reports of varying snow depths around town, snow still falling and temperatures below freezing, we canceled banding for today. There are three weather variables we consider to determine whether banding is safe: 1) Temperature, 2) Wind and 3) Precipitation. Generally, any one of these three conditions at low levels may still allow station operation. These thresholds vary across region; for example, our temperature threshold is different (i.e., lower) than most banding stations in the lower 48. This is due to a number of reasons including humidity and species-specific adaptations. When more than one of these weather variables occurs, station closure is best practice for bird (and human) safety. In general, it's always best to err on the side of caution. Today's low temperatures and precipitation (i.e., snow) would make banding unsafe. We hope the sun will break through and improve conditions to allow banding on Friday. As consolation, I'll share with you a "Weather Report" from a bad weather day at the Kiawah Island Banding Station in 2013.