Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Fairbanks, Alaska Sees Record September Daily Snow; Thousands Without Power, Trees Downed

Jon Erdman
Published: September 30,2015

For the second time in less than a week, Fairbanks, Alaska, was blanketed with heavy snow. This time, it was a record-breaker.
Snow blankets the University of Alaska-Fairbanks campus on September 29, 2015.
(@lucas.nbraga/Instagram)
Officially, 11.2 inches of snow blanketed Fairbanks International Airport Tuesday, setting an all-time September daily snow record, previously 7.8 inches on Sep. 13, 1992.
This also topped the previous record for any 24-hour September snowfall of 9 inches in 1992, according to Rick Thoman from the National Weather Service in Fairbanks. Records in Fairbanks date to 1904.
Golden Valley Electric Agency reported an estimated 7,000-9,000 customers without power as of early Wednesday morning in Fairbanks and in nearby areas. This was down from a peak of about 13,000 customers Tuesday evening, or roughly 30 percent of their total customers.
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Heavy snow blankets Fairbanks, Alaska, on Sep. 29, 2015.
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Crews and contractors worked through the overnight hours clearing downed trees and branches. Photos from the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner showed some deciduous trees had yet to shed all their leaves.
NWS-Fairbanks reported up to 17 inches of snow had accumulated in the Fairbanks area as of early Wednesday morning, with numerous reports of fallen trees.
The concern Wednesday was for increased winds behind a cold front adding more stress to trees and powerlines already weighed down by heavy, wet snow.
(FORECASTS: Fairbanks | Anchorage)
Fairbanks schools were closed Wednesday due to the power outages and treacherous road conditions.
The Alaska DOT reported "very difficult" road conditions along the Park Highway southwest of Fairbanks and advised no travel on the Denali Highway between Paxson and Denali National Park.
Not to be outdone, the first measurable snow of the season blanketed Anchorage, with 2.8 inches officially measured at the National Weather Service office as of mid-morning Wednesday.
The first snow of the season blankets this street in Anchorage, Alaska, on Sep. 30, 2015.
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In the mountains east of Anchorage, up to 9 inches of snow accumulated near Flat Top Mountain.
This first measurable snow is just over two weeks earlier than average in Anchorage, with the 30-year average date this occurs on Oct. 15.
This comes on the heels of a record least snowy 2014-2015 season in Anchorage, during which only 25.1 inches of snow fell. Their first measurable snow last season didn't occur until October 19.
Alaska-based climatologist Brian Brettschneider also added Anchorage set its record wettest September and fourth wettest month overall, thanks to a soaking of rain before Tuesday and Wednesday's first accumulating snow.
Fairbanks has now had two of its three snowiest September days of record within the past four days. Friday, September 25 (6.7 inches) was the city's third heaviest calendar-day September snow on record.
These latest events were the city's heaviest September snow event since a four-day, 17.3-inch snow blitz from Sep. 11-14, 1992.
Fairbanks only averages 1.9 inches of snow during the month of September.
Fairbanks with 11.2" of snow yesterday! Snowiest Sept day on rec. Second snowiest month of Sept.on rec. @StuOstro

The average date of the season's first measurable snow in Fairbanks is September 30, according to according to Brettschneider.
Brettschneider also said September monthly snow totals in excess of a foot have happened in numerous Alaska locations in the past.
Snow falling in Alaska's mountains in late summer is known locally as "termination dust," marking the eventual end of summer's warmth.
Nonetheless, Alaska has been quite chilly the past couple of weeks, even relative to mid-late September averages.

Recent Pattern Keeping Alaska Chilly (Mid-Late Sep. 2015)
The polar jet stream has taken a sharp southward plunge over Alaska, the northeast Pacific Ocean and western Canada, locking in a chilly, wet pattern over our 49th state.
This is quite a sharp turnaround. The first eight months of 2015 were the second warmest such period in Alaska on record, topped only by 1981.
Wildfires consumed over 5 million acres in the state, second only to 2004 in terms of acres burned in any year.
Incidentally, the season's last measurable snow in Fairbanks typically occurs around mid-April (April 17).

MORE: Deep Snow Around the World (PHOTOS)

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