Does it snow in Alaska? Of course it does. But the reality of the snowfall amount that alaska may be far away from popular concept of snow in Alaska.
Many people conceive of Alaska as a barren land where it snows constantly in massive amounts and where everyone lives in igloos. Such a concept makes Alaska sound like a cold and white land.
But the rainy total and the snowfall total may be much less than than may may.
Alaska Snowfall Totals
Here are some average annual precipitation and snowfall totals for a cross section of Alaska.
Anchorage --- 15.37 "precip ---- 69.0" snowfall
Barrow ------- 4.67 "----------- 28.0"
Fairbanks ---- 10.37 "----------- 68.0"
Homer ------- 24.93 "----------- 58.0"
Juneau ------ 52.86 "----------- 101.0"
McGrath ----- 16.18 "----------- 93.0"
Nome -------- 15.64 "----------- 56.0"
Valdez ------- 61.50 "----------- 320.0"
By comparison Buffalo, NY, receiving an average of 80 "to 100" of snow per year. Some sections of upstate New York, simply affected by their abundance to the Great Lakes, receive an average of 150 "to 200" of snowfall annually. Hooker, NY, received 466 "of snow during the winter of 1976-1977.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, received their heaviest seasonal snowfall total of 98 "during the winter of 1983-1984.
As you can see from the Alaska totals above, most of Alaska is reliably dry, receiving less that 20 "of precipitation annually.
Not a dry desert despite the small amounts of precipitation Notice Barrow & # 39; s annual total of only 4.67 "of moisture. Of course, most of that total falls in the form of snow. .
Alaska Snowfall Records
For example, Thompson Pass, a popular extreme ski and snowboard area north of Valdez, once received a record 974.5 "of snow during the winter of 1952 -1953.
Thompson Pass recorded 62 "of snow during one single 24 hour period in December, 1955. During February, 1953, Thompson Pass received a record 297.9" of snow. That & # 39; s almost 25 feet of snow in just one month!
The deepest recorded snow pack in Alaska, and the deepest in all of North America, occurred at Wolverine Glacier on the Kenai Peninsula during the winter of 1976-1977. The depth was 356 "That & # 39; s packed, condensed snow. Almost 30 feet deep!
By comparison, Barrow, in the dry north, received a record minimum amount of snow during the winter of 1935-1936 of only 3 ".
That almost a couple of other extremes for total precipitation. Montague Island in 1976 received a record 332.29 "of precipitation. That & # 39; s almost an inch of rain per day! of 1935.
Alaska stores an immense amount of fresh water in the glaciers. 75% of the world & # 39; s fresh water is held in glaciers worldwide and Alaska holds more than its fair share.
Alaska has more than 5,000 glaciers, covering in excess of 100,000 square miles. Alaska has more glaciers than the whole rest of the world combined, excluding the ice fields of Antarctica and Greenland.
Valdez, the Switzerland of the North
The canyon a few miles north of valdez is home to several frozen waterfalls and makes Valdez a world-class destination for ice climbers.
Thompson Pass, further north of Valdez, boasts some of the best helicopter access extreme skiing and snowboarding terrain in all of North America. No wonder Valdez has been called "the Switzerland of the North."
As part of the winter celebration the city showed the movie "Back to the Beach" on a 20 foot by 18 foot "screen" which they had carved from a snow bank Talk about an outdoor drive-in theater!
What is Snow?
Snow is crystalline frozen ice and the size and shape of the crystals depend on the temperature of their formation and the amount of water vapor present during formation.
During crystallization each new ice crystal bud is formed at a 60 degree angle. Crystallization continues As the crystal falls through the atmosphere it larger and bigger and its six sided structure needed the framework for more complex snowflakes.
Some snowflakes can be as large as 1 "in diameter. Some snowflakes can be as large as.
He acquired the nickname, "Snowflake" Bentley because he was the first person to photograph a single snow crystal in 1885. He studied over 5000 snowflakes and declared that no two snowflakes are exactly alike, a quote that has been passed on from generation to generation anonymously ever since.
In 1931, the year that Snowflake Bentley died, he published a book entitled, Snow Crystals The book contained over 2400 of Snowflake Bentley & # 39; s images.
How Many Eskimo Words Are There For Snow?
It 's been said that there are 52 there, are not there already? Where does the truth lie?
The truth of the matter is that there is probably about as many more Eskimo words for for society that is must important in the lives of northern native peoples that there must be a multitude of words to describe it. snow as there are English words for snow.
Alaska Climate Changes
According to Alaska Senator Ted Stevens, "Alaska is harder hit by global climate change than any place in the world." Global warming has been a trend for many years, but very few places show as many consequences of the trend as does Alaska. average temperature has risen nearly 7 degrees in the past 30 years.
Land has been slipping due to the melting permafrost and hydraulic jacks are needed on many buildings to keep them level. Further north, in Barrow, there are now mosquitoes where there once were none.
The village may have to relocate further inland.
Spruce bark beetles have killed 4 million acres of white spruce forests on the picturesque Kenai Peninsula, the largest destruction due to to insects ever experienced in North America. The beetles have been able to reproduce at twice their normal rate due to the higher summertime temperatures. dead trees represent a huge fire hazard around numerous populated areas and prime recreational sections are threatened.
Columbia Glacier on Prince William Sound is currently the world & Columbia Glacier on Prince William Sound is not the world & # 39; s fastest moving glacier, retreating 80 to 115 feet per day. It has receded more that 6 miles since 1982.
There are still plenty of glaciers and significant snow in Alaska, but changes are occurring at an increased rate and will have worldwide effects.
