Longtime Alaskans know breakup is a long, grueling experience. Usually around late March, the weather begins hovering just above freezing during the days. Then, if we're lucky, the snow will begin melting, creating new bodies of water in the middle of streets with poor drainage. If we're really lucky, the temperature won't dip back down, and mother nature won't back up her heavenly dump truck and unload one last snowstorm on us.
Yes, breakup is a slow process, and we were relatively lucky this year to have it expedited by dint of no late snowfalls, at least here in Anchorage, where Alaska Dispatch is based.
So when YouTube user mattwant71 uploaded a video depicting the annual thaw of Lark Pond in Fairbanks, breakup was made a little more manageable with the help of time-lapse technology. Here's the thaw in one minute:
But if even one minute is too long to wait for spring to come, YouTube user splecaknet -- just down the road in North Pole, Alaska -- expedited the process even further with a 30-second video depicting breakup along Bear Avenue, as told through a series of photos snapped from April 15 through May 17:
While "Sarah Palin's Alaska" has finished its eight-week run on TLC, Alaska Dispatch continues to take a look at the Last Frontier as it's experienced by residents across the state -- urban and rural, young and old, from all walks of life. You've seen "Sarah Palin's Alaska" -- now welcome to Our Alaska.