The weather in Unalaska is extremely varied. You can count on what you see, but it may change within an hour or two. Winds shift, cloud ceiling raises and lowers, rains and/mists come and go.
For example, Friday was very overcast, and often you could not see the tops of the mountains which run from 1500 to 5900 feet. (It is very obvious that this is a volcanic island--the hillsides descend directly from the mountain tops and plunge into the sea--very few beaches.) But Saturday dawned with a clear blue sky, only gentle winds, and stayed that way all day--eventually reaching a high of 58, so the locals all barbecued!
Since the visibility was so good, we did some driving around the island on what few roads there are. Took the Ford Explorer over some extremely rocky rutted roads, but saw spectacular views, lovely early wild flowers, and evidence of both volcanos and glaciers which ground down some of the heights. The vehicle is not in the best shape. It is missing the driver rear view mirror and gas flap, the passenger seat belt sticks and is very difficult to get out of, and the driver's door does not open and close. This necessitates crawling over the consul to get in and out. But worst of all, the seat belt warning bell rings constantly regardless of seat belt usage. If you come to visit us :-) we can show you around, but we'll have to use that ding-y vehicle!
After that glorious day, Sunday dawned with thick fog and a ceiling of about 50 feet. Stayed that way all morning, but 20 people came to church, so that was good. In the afternoon, George went halibut fishing with one of the parishoners. The weather cleared, the sun returned, and the sea was totally smooth. They caught 4 halibut (one was 30 lbs.) and one large cod. We had really fresh fish for dinner--and we'll be eating a lot more while we're here.
For those wondering, my suitcase arrived exactly 24 hours after I did. We had to retreive it quickly, as the baggage area closed 10 minutes after they called to tell us the bag had come! Also, the church computer is back up now--hooray!
For example, Friday was very overcast, and often you could not see the tops of the mountains which run from 1500 to 5900 feet. (It is very obvious that this is a volcanic island--the hillsides descend directly from the mountain tops and plunge into the sea--very few beaches.) But Saturday dawned with a clear blue sky, only gentle winds, and stayed that way all day--eventually reaching a high of 58, so the locals all barbecued!
Since the visibility was so good, we did some driving around the island on what few roads there are. Took the Ford Explorer over some extremely rocky rutted roads, but saw spectacular views, lovely early wild flowers, and evidence of both volcanos and glaciers which ground down some of the heights. The vehicle is not in the best shape. It is missing the driver rear view mirror and gas flap, the passenger seat belt sticks and is very difficult to get out of, and the driver's door does not open and close. This necessitates crawling over the consul to get in and out. But worst of all, the seat belt warning bell rings constantly regardless of seat belt usage. If you come to visit us :-) we can show you around, but we'll have to use that ding-y vehicle!
After that glorious day, Sunday dawned with thick fog and a ceiling of about 50 feet. Stayed that way all morning, but 20 people came to church, so that was good. In the afternoon, George went halibut fishing with one of the parishoners. The weather cleared, the sun returned, and the sea was totally smooth. They caught 4 halibut (one was 30 lbs.) and one large cod. We had really fresh fish for dinner--and we'll be eating a lot more while we're here.
For those wondering, my suitcase arrived exactly 24 hours after I did. We had to retreive it quickly, as the baggage area closed 10 minutes after they called to tell us the bag had come! Also, the church computer is back up now--hooray!
When we lived in Kentucky, the locals were fond of saying "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes." It sounds like it isn't the only place where that is true.
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