We just got past the worst of the cold but that didn't stop our infrastructure from failing either. The water main on my street let loose this morning so I haven't had any running water all day. I have a case of drinking water so me and the furballs are covered. I stuffed a couple of five gallon buckets with snow so when that finally melts, I can flush my toilet. LOL I had one reserve flush left in the tank but I was forced to use it because my colon didn't get the memo. 💩
‘Pandemic of snow’ in Anchorage sets a record for the earliest arrival of 100 inches of snow
The city is well on track to break its record of 134.5 inches.
People pose in front of Snowzilla, a snowman measuring more than 20 feet tall in Anchorage, Alaska, on Jan. 10.Mark Thiessen / AP
Jan. 30, 2024, 3:12 AM CST / Source: The Associated Press By The Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Even by Alaska standards, there’s a lot of snow this winter.
So much snow has fallen — so far, more than 8.5 feet— that roofs on commercial buildings are collapsing around Anchorage and officials are urging residents to break out their shovels to avoid a similar fate at home. Over the weekend, there was nearly 16 more inches of snowfall, pushing Alaska’s largest city past the 100-inch mark earlier than at any other time in its history.
The city is well on track to break its all-time record of 134.5 inches.
Now, even winter-savvy Anchorage residents are getting fed up with the snow-filled streets and sidewalks, constant shoveling and six days of pandemic-era remote learning. It’s already in the record books with this year’s snowfall, at eighth snowiest with a lot of time left this season.
“It’s miserable,” said Tamera Flores, an elementary school teacher shoveling her driveway on Monday, as the snow pile towered over her head. “It’s a pandemic of snow.”
Last year, 107.9 inches fell on Anchorage, making this only the second time the city has had back-to-back years of 100-plus inches of snow since the winters of 1954-55 and 1955-56.
This year, the roofs of three commercial structures collapsed under loads of heavy snow. Last year, 16 buildings had roofs collapse with one person killed at a gym.
The city last week issued guidance urging people to remove snow from their home roofs. Officials said there were snow loads of more than 30 pounds per square foot.
“That is a lot of weight,” the notice said. It gave the example of a home with 1,500 square feet of roof with 30 pounds per square foot of snow, which would be supporting about 45,000 pounds, or “about 8 full size light duty pickup trucks.”
Since it’s so early in the season, people should think about removing the snow, especially if there are signs of structural distress. These include a sagging roof; creaking, popping, cracking or other strange noises coming from the roof, which can indicate its under stress from the snow; or sticking or jammed doors and windows, a sign the snow might be deforming the structure of the house.
Signs have popped up all over town from companies advertising services to remove the snow from roofs.
Some fun has come from a whole lot of snow.
The deluge of snowfall this year prompted one Anchorage homeowner to erect a three-tiered snowman standing over 20-feet-tall. Snowzilla, as it’s named, has drawn people to snap photos.
Last week, Anchorage had below zero temperatures overnight for seven days, and it only snowed after it warmed up Sunday.
But Anchorage residents may not be able to hold on to the old adage that it’s too cold to snow.
Sunday’s storm was the first time since 1916 that over an inch of snow fell in Anchorage when temperatures were 2 degrees or colder, said Kenna Mitchell, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
And a return to bitter cold is likely what’s on tap later this week. An upper level high pressure system could move back in, dropping temperatures back to below zero at night, possible into the minus 10s.
“This winter is definitely rough, but us Alaskans are definitely built different,” resident Damon Fitts said as he shoveled the driveway at his residence.
“We can handle 100 inches of snow and still make it to work on time,” he said. “We can put up with a lot.”
List of snowiest places in the United States by state
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The list of snowiest places in the United States by state shows average annual snowfall totals for the period from mid-1985 to mid-2015. Only places in the official climate database of the National Weather Service, a service of NOAA, are included in this list. Some ski resorts and unofficial weather stations report higher amounts of snowfall than places on this list. Official weather stations are usually located in populated places and snowfall statistics for isolated and unpopulated areas are often not recorded.
Mount Rainier and Mount Baker in Washington are the snowiest places in the United States which have weather stations, receiving 645 inches (1,640 cm) annually on average. By comparison, the populated place with the highest snowfall in the world is believed to be Sukayu Onsen in the Siberian-facing Japanese Alps. Sukayu Onsen receives 694.5 inches (1,764 cm) (nearly 58 feet) of snow annually. Nearby mountain slopes may receive even more.[1]
The amount of snow received at weather stations varies substantially from year to year. For example, the annual snowfall at Paradise Ranger Station in Mount Rainier National Park has been as little as 266 inches (680 cm) in 2014-2015 and as much as 1,122 inches (2,850 cm) in 1971–1972.[2]
Weather stations with highest snowfall in the United States by state, 1985-2015 GRAPHICS: [...]
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