Edmund Hatch Bennett School, Taunton -- Feb. 24

41° 54' 08" N
71° 08' 20" W
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Also, compare today's coordinates to those of other recent EarthView outings, near and far!

EarthView is visiting third- and fourth-grade classes at the Bennett School in Taunton with Dr. Hayes-Bohanan and Ms. Hart, a local teacher who worked with EarthView when she was a student of geography and education at BSU.

She had spent part of her childhood in Fairbanks, Alaska and found Taunton to be cold enough Tuesday night that she decided to make some comparisons. The weather report from her phone shows which place was warmer. (To be fair, it was still mid-afternoon in Fairbanks and the sun was already down in Taunton.)

She also looked up some details about winters in the two places.

Taunton

1674 miles Boston to Arctic Circle
Average temperature in February 39
Average snow fall in February 10 in
This year 99 inches of snow and 27 degrees

Fairbanks

198 miles Fairbanks to Arctic Circle
Average temperature in February -3.6
Average snow fall in February 9 in
Temp today 30 degrees
This year since Dec 1 snowfall totals 19.9 inches in February .1 inches. Average temp for Feb this year 28 degrees. 

So if she discusses going back to her former Alaska home to warm up, students will now understand why!

The EarthView team were not the only people making Massachusetts-Alaska comparisons today. After our visit to Bennett School, we found this image making the rounds on social media. It is a great example of what geographers call "sense of place" because it uses the ubiquitous Massachusetts town-boundary signs. And it captures perfectly what a lot of Bay Staters are thinking about recent weather. Moreover, the star of this image bears a slight resemblance to Dr. Hayes-Bohanan.