Storms End Alaska’s Winter Snow Drought
A series of storms has ended Alaska’s unusual winter snow drought, covering bare and frozen ground with several feet of powder.
Up to 2 feet of snow has blanketed Anchorage since the weekend, and more is forecast for the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. The snow was heaviest in Valdez, where more than 7 feet of snow has fallen over the last few days.
The snow is a blessing to the many ski enthusiasts in the state who looked enviously to heavy snows in the eastern United States last month.
“It was really strange to sit here in the first week of February and have just 1 inch of snow on the ground,” said Lynn Chrystal, a local meterologist for the weather service.
Valdez typically gets 332 inches of snow in winter. “We’ve still only got about half of our normal accumulation for this time of year, but it’s all happening at once,” he said.
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