Come join our WFO Fairbanks Team!
We are looking for innovative and energetic people with excellent science, forecasting, and leadership skills to be apart of the Fairbanks WFO Team! This is a great opportunity for interested folks as we have a lot of unique experiences and challenges in Alaska. Check out available positions at USAjobs.gov.
To Meet WFO Fairbanks staff, please take a look at our StoryMap to learn about our office history, meet our WFO Fairbanks Team and hear from them on various questions about living in Alaska!
Take a tour of the Fairbanks forecast area with a previous ETs, John Nguyen (now at NWS Sacramento). John put together a fantastic video of the places he and others travel within our forecast area to work on equipment as an Electronics Technician. You might be able to see one of the caribou herds or other animals traveling with our Electronic Technician (ETs), Operations Program Leader (OPL), or Senior Service Hydrologist (SSH)!
To read more about of WFO Fairbanks unique opportunities our staff experience with DSS and Outreach from the NWS Insider:
More information about Fairbanks WFO area and opportunities:
There is a lot of forecasting opportunity to experience at the Fairbanks WFO. Our warning area including offshore marine and land area is roughly 25 times the size of a CWA in the Lower 48. A forecaster here will gain an abundance in experience of winter weather forecasting (blizzards, winter weather, Interior ice fog, coastal stratus/dense fog). However, what one may not realize is there also a ton of experience gained within Coastal Flooding, River Flooding (during ice break-up, snowmelt and convective season), Fire Weather (during summer Interior Alaska), Convective Weather, Aviation Weather, Marine Weather and providing Decision Support Services for North Star Borough (Fairbanks) and Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management that handles majority of the villages in Fairbanks CWA. We also have unique experiences with Arctic and providing DSS for critical events such as US Navy Ice Exercise (ICEX) and US Coast Guard for cruise ships like Crystal Serenity. Forecasting can be challenging at times particularly with the large warning area with observational and numerical modelling limitations.
There are great collaborative opportunities with the office being co-located with the University of Alaska Fairbanks. There is a broad spectrum of interest at the Department of Atmospheric Science in the College of Natural Science and Mathematics ranging from physical, chemical, and dynamic processes in the polar atmosphere and issues bearing directly on climate variability and change to Homeland Security and Emergency Management Program.Other collaborative organizations include Geophysical Institute, International Arctic Research Center, Geographical Information Network of Alaska, and NESDIS Fairbanks Command and Data Acquisition Station.
Many may think that the Fairbanks area is cold year round, but that is not the case. Average winter low temperatures range from −15 °F to −25 °F, but extremes can range from 50 to -60°F. However, these temperatures are at the Fairbanks International Airport and the surrounding hillsides can range 10 to 20°F degree warmer with the winter time inversions. In summer, temperatures typically range between 75 and 50 °F, with some extremes ranging into the upper 80s and lower 90s at Fairbanks.
There are also 3 military bases near Fairbanks, with Fort Wainwright military base is located on the east side of Fairbanks with Eielson AFB located 15 minutes southeast of Fairbanks and Clear and Ft Greely 40 min to hour drive. More information in general can be found at the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce HERE.
If you are an outdoor enthusiast, then Fairbanks is a backyard playground! You will be surrounded by unlimited wilderness and dramatic scenery, year-round outdoor recreation, hunting, fishing, snow-machining, skiing, trails, etc. There are several state and national parks with an over abundance of rivers, streams, and lakes. Denali National Park which has Denali (highest mountain in North America) is roughly 2 hours south of Fairbanks. The Arctic Circle is roughly located 3 hours to the north and Anchorage is only 6 hours south of Fairbanks. During the late winter there is the World Ice Championship and finally throughout much of the year you can view the fabulous beauty of the Northern Lights (or aurora).
Learn more about Fairbanks weather and area by visiting the following NWS Fairbanks Story Map or social media:
Do you have more questions? Please contact:
Melissa Kreller, Meteorologist In Charge: Melissa.Kreller@noaa.gov
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