In Alaska, minus 59 takes toll on cars, pipes, state of mind
Cynthia Erickson woke up early, hoping her four furnaces were working.
She owns a grocery store and the building that houses the post office in the village of Tanana, Alaska, which ranked as the coldest place in the state Wednesday. The official temperature at the airport with a single gravel runway was minus 54 degrees. Nearby, along the Yukon River, it was 5 degrees colder.
“Fifty-nine below on Front Street in Tanana, Alaska,” she said, laughing. “It’s just miserable. I hate everybody who lives in a warm place.”
A cold snap gripping interior Alaska is bothering even longtime residents such as Erickson. She didn’t see a customer until 25 minutes after she opened her store, where the furnace was operating despite the cold....
