The Tanana River, at the site of the now 99 year tradition of the Nenana Ice Classic officially went out Friday April 24 for 2015, so it is officially summer in interior Alaska now.
I buy 10 tickets every year and cover one daily guess (to cover ten consecutive days) on the exact minute the ice officially goes out on the Tanana River (time guess is random) when the tripod has to move 100 feet downstream from it's yearly exact planted spot on the river placed in on the first week of March.
I covered April 27 thru May 6 this year as the weather after the April 5 deadline predicted 2 coolspells in the 8 to 14 day forecast at the time, however only one coolspell entered the area for two short days dumping four inches of wet snow and everyday after that became warmer than the normal high temp.
The 3 year and 5 year cycle told me mid and late April breakup, while the 2 year and 4 year cycle told me first week of May, so it goes to show you weather in the far north can be unpredictable.
April 29 and 30 are the most common dates the ice goes out in Nenana, roughly 20 percent of the time, so in general April is considered an earlier breakup and May a later breakup.
This is been the second consecutive year the ice went out earlier than normal, as in 2013 it was the latest calendar day with 1964 when the ice went out on May 20, however they still recognize 1964 as the latest breakup year with the extra leap year day added in the equation.
I have yet to witness seeing the Yukon River ice going out in person, as it is one of the last major rivers to ice out and it is a real sight to see - and it was ironic two years ago that the Yukon River at Dawson City actually went out days earlier than the Tanana River at Nenana, and that does not happen too often.
