MoonmountIt’s -1 degree this morning in Palmer.  Wasilla is reading -15.  Forecasts today are for winds to 20 mph with gusts to 40.  That Matanuska Wind really magnifies the cold.  Hey, it’s clear and beautiful outside! There is always a bright side.

I don’t mind the wind or the cold until it gets really cold, like -20 or more.  There are some advantages to being built like a walrus.  The cold and wind remind me that we haven’t tamed everything, and that’s a good thing.

Since people often say they like Palmer but don’t like the wind, I thought I would tell you how to live in Palmer and stay out of the wind.  But first let me say that the wind blows in Wasilla too.  If it’s gusting to 60 mph in Palmer, the gusts are probably hitting 40 in Wasilla.  So just because you don’t buy a house in Palmer doesn’t mean you are avoiding the wind.

And, the wind doesn’t blow as much as people imagine.  It’s just that you remember it so well when the roof blows off.  We have serious wind storms only a few times a year.  I’m going to guess 5–8 wind storms that last 3 days or so.  I’m no geophysicist so don’t hold me to that.  I’m just giving my best guess after living here for 35 years. 

OK, where can you get away from the wind.

  • 1. The areas on Lazy Mountain between Smith and Maud Road have very little wind.  They are protected by Lazy Mountain and Matanuska Peak.
  • 2. The Butte doesn’t get the Matanuska Wind.  They do get the Knik Wind, but that is usually a chinook that warms things up.
  • 3. If you get up close to Hatcher Pass you will at least avoid the brunt of the storms. 
  • 4. The outer edges of the Springer System along the Matanuska River are like the Butte as far as the wind goes.
  • 5. Take a look at this google map .  The wind comes down out of the long Matanuska River Valley that runs from Palmer to the East.  It is then funnelled at the last minute by the deep Matanuska River Canyon which focuses the wind right on Palmer.  The farther away you get from the mouth of that canyon, the more the wind diminishes.  So the end of Fairview Loop Road, Knik Goose Bay Road, the Big Lake and Meadow Lake areas have relatively mild winds. 

But there are trade-offs.  Notice the first line in this post.  It’s minus 17 in Big Lake right now.  Most likely it’s about 10 below in the Butte.  Here is an interesting weather map showing the differences in temperature through-out the valley.

See also, Driveways, Wind, and Palmer