A couple of transplanted Marylanders/Ravens fans now living in Valdez, AK sent me these pictures of the phenomenal snowfall they have been dealing with this winter. As of Friday afternoon, January 13th, the town has been buried under 322″ since the snow started falling last Fall, with 98.5″ of that coming in just the past 13 days.
Cecilia tells me snowshoes are a necessity for getting around town but Valdez is well prepared for heavy snow (the record for one season is 560″!), and there have been only “minor inconveniences” so far. Nonetheless she says, “There has been a call-out for all available people to grab a shovel and help shovel the roofs of public buildings; my husband and I have been helping a lot of friends and the fire department with snow removal. The snow load now exceeds one hundred pounds per square foot, and has caused some structures to go unoccupied until snow removal can be completed.”
By the way, Valez is just one of several towns in southern Alaska dealing with record snowfalls this winter. Cordova (east of Valdez), made national headlines when the National Guard was called out to help clear the streets this week, and Anchorage (northwest of Valdez), has now measured 89.3″ of snow. That’s 15″ above the normal for an entire winter and the most the state’s largest city has ever measured this early in the season. This report from the National Weather Service in Anchorage:
...ANCHORAGE REMAINS ON PACE FOR THE SNOWIEST WINTER EVER... THE MOST RECENT STORM DROPPED ANOTHER 7.9 INCHES OF SNOW AT THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE ON SAND LAKE ROAD (THE OFFICIAL CLIMATE STATION FOR ANCHORAGE). THIS BRINGS THE SEASONAL SNOWFALL TOTAL TO 89.3 INCHES...WHICH IS THE MOST SNOW ANCHORAGE HAS EVER ACCUMULATED THROUGH JANUARY 13TH SINCE RECORDS BEGAN IN 1915. THIS TOTAL EXCEEDS THE AVERAGE SNOWFALL FOR AN ENTIRE SEASON WHICH IS 74.5 INCHES. ANCHORAGE REMAINS ON PACE TO BREAK THE SEASONAL RECORD FOR SNOWFALL OF 132.8 INCHES IN THE WINTER OF 1954-1955. FOR THE TIME BEING HOWEVER...A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER PATTERN WILL LEAD TO DRY CONDITIONS FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT WEEK. TOP 5 SNOWFALLS THROUGH JANUARY 13TH 1. 89.3 INCHES 2011-2012 2. 77.8 INCHES 1994-1995 3. 74.7 INCHES 1955-1956 4. 73.9 INCHES 2003-2004 5. 67.9 INCHES 1965-1966 TOP 5 WINTER SNOWFALLS 1. 132.8 INCHES 1954-1955 2. 128.8 INCHES 1955-1956 3. 121.5 INCHES 1994-1995 4. 113.8 INCHES 2003-2004 5. 111.0 INCHES 1948-1949
Tom Tasselmyer
