Recently, we posted an article about the snow Northern California was getting, which was closing roads and making travel hazardous. It is wintertime. Now we move further north to Alaska. While we expect the whole state to be inundated with snow all winter, areas along the coast tend to have milder winters. Not the case for this year. Juneau has gotten the season’s worth of snow in only December!
Juneau
Juneau, the state capital, is located along the Gulf of Alaska. Juneau averages 17.8 inches of snow in the winter season. Last month, residents received almost 80 inches of snow! Although they average 87 inches for the winter, they are well on their way to passing that mark.
Trouble
While snow brings its hazards like unplowed roads and possibly downed power lines, this much snow in such a short period of time brings additional trouble. So much snow in such a short time did not allow residents to shovel snow off their roofs and boats. Thus, some roofs are caving in, and boats are sinking! Being along the watery coast did not help. The snow is very moist and weighs about 36 pounds per square foot. That is heavy to shovel!
Conditions
While the temperatures remain low, the snow has lessened, enabling residents a short time to shovel what is necessary. Additional snow is in the forecast next week until Thursday, when temperatures rise and rain is expected.
