When does summer start?

Alaska has a bit of reputation. When out of the state, people all over will ask you questions (joking questions of course, but still stupid) about what it's like to live in an igloo, or what it's like to have to ride a dog sled to work, or even what it's like to have a polar bear for a pet. You know, standard hilarious jokes that absolutely never get tired.

For the most part they're very incorrect, because even though the winter's do suck and are long and cold and dark, the summers are extremely pleasant typically. Never gets too hot, but generally it stays pretty warm and we see many days in the perfect area of 75 with a light breeze. They really make the whole "living in Alaska" thing worth it, even if in the other nine months of the year the weather is pretty much miserable.

One problem this year however.

There is no summer!

Recently the Anchorage Daily News wrote an article about how this is, statistically speaking, the coldest summer ever in Alaska.

Kill me.

We're looking at a summer with two days above 70 degrees, zero days over 75, and only 35 days over 60. Sixty!!! The average for a summer is 88, and we haven't even hit half that yet.

So needless to say, this summer in terms of weather has absolutely sucked. It's been a great one with lots of fun and tons of memorable times, but come on now, throw us a bone Mother Nature. I know you already have some snow on the mountains (ridiculous but absolutely true) but can't you give us a few weeks of phenomenal weather? Hell, I'd satisfy for 65 with sun and no clouds. That isn't that much to ask is it?

When it's July still and I'm legitimately concerned about the frost that's gathering on my car, well...that's when you know it's a pretty messed up summer.

One bit of good news from the article I linked to above - while they claim that we're facing below average weather right now, they are also suggesting that we'll have unusually warm weather between October and December. I have to admit, I really like the sound of that.