Ask a Climatologist: Why is it so cold here when everywhere else is so warm?

The University of Alaska Fairbanks campus on Jan. 18th, 2017. (Photo by Amanda Frank)
It was -50 degrees today in Fairbanks. Anchorage hit -15 degrees. Much of the state is enduring the coldest temperatures in nearly five years.
Brian Brettschneider is a climatologist in Anchorage who closely tracks Alaska climate data and trends. Alaska’s Energy Desk is checking in with him regularly as part of the segment, Ask a Climatologist.
Points in Anchorage and to the north and west are experiencin