Anchorage and Mat-Su Borough schools and state offices are closed Thursday as a third major winter storm this month coated the area with snow overnight Wednesday. “In the past 11 days, we’ve had 41.1 inches of snow which is a lot for Anchorage,” Baines said.
The slides come near the end of an avalanche season experts say is notable both for its heightened danger and lack of deaths.
Heavy rains toppled trees and buried roads on Prince of Wales Island Monday. Local and state transportation crews are responding to at least seven landslides blocking roads on the Southeast Alaska island.
The Yukon, Tanana, Koyukuk, Kuskokwim and Susitna basins all have more snowpack than usual — and some are well above normal.
Storms battered the southern Bering Sea and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta last month. February storms aren’t unusual, but the amount of rain and flooding is. The combination caused a lot of damage for two communities in the region.
An “atmospheric river" is what it sounds like - a channel of very moist air coursing across the globe, up in the air. And it’s what’s been drenching parts of Alaska, including the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
Both buildings were occupied during the collapses but everyone got out safely and no injuries were reported, according to Anchorage Fire Department spokeswoman Lexi Trainer.
Nome recorded 1.27 inches of rain on Sept. 14
The Spenard Builders Supply facility in Anchorage suffered a significant roof collapse due to heavy snow, causing no injuries but damaging the structure and nearby utilities.
Schools in Southcentral Alaska are closed due to a snowstorm and power outages, with the Seward Highway being deemed "impassable" and numerous vehicles stranded.
In less than a day, the riverbank was eroded back more than 60 feet, threatening some cabins near the river.
Fairbanks' May 10 temperature was two degrees below the daily record, while snow melt from an above-normal year is flooding Interior rivers.
As of Sunday nearly 60 inches of snow fell in Haines in the last 8 days. That total was higher in some parts of town and more snow is in the forecast.
Department of Transportation crews are battling a thick coating of ice on roads, and the local utility, Golden Valley Electric, continues working to restore electricity to pockets of customers.
Record rainfall in parts of Southeast are just one more reason 2020 will be a year some will be happy to forget. Ketchikan recorded 47 inches of rain from June to August.
Rain caused mudslides are affecting roads in the southeastern Interior. The Alaska Department of Transportation reports that the McCarthy Road was shut down by a slide last night. Listen now
For the second year in a row, the Anchorage area set a new snowfall record. This year it wasn’t the amount of fluffy stuff that went down in the history books — last year Anchorage had more than 11 feet — but the days between the first and last snowfall.
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