Valdez Blockbuster Snowstorm

[tropicana]

Tuesday Dec 15, 2009

VALDEZ AK
...OVER 3 FEET OF RECORD SNOWFALL IN VALDEZ...

THE VALDEZ WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE MEASURED 38.7 INCHES OF TOTAL
SNOWFALL TODAY WHICH BLOWS AWAY THE PREVIOUS DAILY SNOWFALL RECORD
FOR DECEMBER 15TH OF 10.1 INCHES SET BACK IN 1991.
THIS MAKES IT THE HIGHEST 24 HOUR SNOWFALL IN THE MONTH OF
DECEMBER...THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 31.7 INCHES SET ON DECEMBER 30TH
2002.

THE 38.7 INCHES THAT FELL TODAY ALSO BECAME THE 2ND HIGHEST ALL TIME
24 HOUR SNOWFALL RECORD...ONLY 8.8 INCHES SHY OF THE 47.5 INCHES THAT
FELL ON JANUARY 16TH 1990.

Anchorage:-
A storm stalled over Southcentral this week, dumping snow on the region, wreaking havoc on the Tuesday evening commute and prompting the National Weather Service to issue a winter weather advisory for Anchorage and the Mat-Su
The National Weather Service was predicting snow would continue through Tuesday night and Wednesday and dump an additional 7 to 14 inches, with the highest amounts near the mountains, by the time it tapers off Wednesday afternoon.

The Mat-Su was expected to be bombarded with between 8 and 15 inches of snow from the storm, according to the Weather Service. Snow will also fall on the Kenai Peninsula, though it is not expected to be as severe.

The advisory expires at 4 p.m., and police, already experiencing a deluge of wrecks Tuesday night, were expecting problems to continue into the commutes Wednesday.
"When there's additional snow we always anticipate additional traffic problems," police spokeswoman Anita Shell said. "Motorists are advised to slow down for icy road conditions and increase the distance between yourself and the vehicle in front of you."
Snow began falling early Monday and has continued because the system has stalled overhead, according to the Weather Service. The heaviest snowfalls have been reported around the coast, but comparatively light snowfalls from the Kenai to the Mat-Su were starting to add up.
In the Anchorage area, the Weather Service reported 6 inches of snow in Eagle River and just over 2 inches at the Weather Service office in Sand Lake as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. In the Mat-Su, Trunk Road at the Palmer-Wasilla Highway checked in at 8 inches.

The deepest snow in the region fell in Valdez, which saw nearly 39 inches, according to the Weather Service.

Between midnight and 5:30 p.m., Anchorage police responded to 52 accidents, including nine with minor injuries. There were also 60 vehicles in distress, 30 percent of which were on the Glenn Highway, according to police.

[Dionne]

Parts of south-central Alaska from Valdez over Thompson Pass and in Girdwood (Alyeska ski resort) frequently record over 900 inches of snow per year. The Alyeska resort is reporting almost 200 inches so far this season. What we call "Chugach powder" (for the Chugach mountain range) is heavy wet snow from storms coming in off the Gulf of Alaska. It's not at all like the light fluffy snow you see in Utah and Colorado. Ski conditions from these snow falls range from the worst you can possibly imagine with extreme avalanche hazards to the most unbelievable powder experience of a lifetime. Skiers travel from all over the world travel to heli-ski the Chugach range.

[brunota2003]

they get over 3 foot of snow in a day, and only put out a winter weather advisory?! If that were to fall in some places that I've lived at, they'd issue a end of the world warning

[vbhoutex]

I have copied this topic over to the Winter Weather forum which is more appropriate for it. I will lock this one and leave it here for a while till others find it in the Winter Weather forum.