Alaska News

Snow-to-date total breaks record for Anchorage

Wednesday morning update: The National Weather Service is forecasting 9 to 18 more inches of snow for Anchorage starting before midnight tonight and continuing through Thursday.

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If you think Anchorage has a lot of snow, you're right. When the skies cleared on Monday after this weekend's traffic-snarling blizzard, the season snowfall total stood at 81.3 inches according to the National Weather Service.

That's a record for any season as measured from the first snowfall through Jan. 9. It's nearly double what Anchorage receives by that date in a normal year and four inches higher than the previous record.

The previous record for Jan. 9 was 77 inches set in 1995. The winter of 1994-95 is recorded as the third snowiest winter in Anchorage, with 121.5 inches falling before spring came. In third place for total snowfall as of Jan. 9 is 1955, with 74.7 inches. The full 1954-55 season was the snowiest ever recorded in Anchorage, with 132.8 inches.

Other top total-to-date seasons for Jan. 9 are: 1964-65, 67.9 inches; 1958-59, 59.3 inches; and 1996-97, 58.6 inches.

The average total season snowfall for Jan. 9 is 41.6 inches.

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Reach Mike Dunham at mdunham@adn.com or 257-4332.

By MIKE DUNHAM

Anchorage Daily News

Mike Dunham

Mike Dunham has been a reporter and editor at the ADN since 1994, mainly writing about culture, arts and Alaska history. He worked in radio for 20 years before switching to print.

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