Alaska is on track to break snowfall records after Anchorage was blanketed with more than 100 inches − the earliest accumulation ever of that amount − collapsing roofs and closing schools.
The city, which was hit with almost 16 inches of snow this weekend, has now had over 8.5 feet this winter, the second year to break the 100-inch mark. If the trend continues, Anchorage could break its all-time record of 134.5 inches recorded in the winter of 2011.
“We’re at the most snow for the season today,” said Brian Brettschneider, an Alaska-based climate scientist for the National Weather Service. “We were up to 104.3 inches, and we’d never hit this amount before the end of January before.”
Snow on the ground already reached a depth of 37 inches, Brettschneider said. “Even if we have the least amount of snow that we’ve ever had from this point for the rest of the winter, that would still leave us in the top five snowiest winters,” he said.
The stunning levels of precipitation have been a challenge for the snow-hardened city, leading to the collapse of three buildings already this year. And city officials warned of the persistent danger of heavy snow piling onto roofs, estimating in a snow removal notice posted last week that 500 to 1,000 city buildings have “roof trusses of immediate concern.”