04 April 2017

When Will All This Snow Melt?

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - It’s been an above average winter for snow totals in the Anchorage area with 82.4 inches recorded as of March 31st. That makes the winter of 2016-2017 the 16th snowiest winter on record. On the last day of March, 26 inches of snow still lingered on the ground. The question for many: When is all this snow going to melt?

If the past is any guidance, the end of April.

In 2012, Anchorage also had a snow depth of 26 inches on March 31. The snow had melted by April 25. In 2004, the snow depth stood at 30 inches at the end of March. That year, the snow was gone by April 23.

The month of March 2017 was slightly above normal for snow with 10.3 inches. All the snow for the month came down on March 28, 29 and 31. March 29 was a record day with 8.4 inches falling. The previous record for that date was 3.4 inches in 2001.

The warmest temperature Anchorage saw in March 2017 was 35 F. That’s the coldest monthly high temperature for any March on record.

March 2017 was also the 9th coldest March, with an average temperature of 19.2 F, putting it 7.4 F below normal (26.6F degrees). This is the fourth consecutive month with a below normal average temperature.

9 comments:

Suz said...

Heard the weather guesser say we are supposed to get 4-8 inches tomorrow of snow. I am NOT amused!! I have daffodils almost ready to bloom! I know it will melt 48 hours later as Sun the temp is supposed to be 60 something, but still...we haven't had any snow since mid-Feb, which is also wrong on a couple of different levels.

And we have had enough rain to make Noah happy in the past 3 weeks...

Ok, I'll stop whining now. :)

Rev. Paul said...

Suz, that's a significant amount of snow, especially at this time of year. I don't know where you are, but we haven't seen bare ground since early November. And rain? Apart from sprinkles over the last couple of days, it hasn't been warm enough for liquid precipitation in six months. Everything's relative - but I hope your flower survive.

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

That seems like an awfully long time. What month does snow typically start appearing?

Ed Bonderenka said...

It will melt when hell freezes over.

Rev. Paul said...

TB, we normally have snow in October, and what's on the ground by Halloween will be there until next summer.

Ed, we're not nearly high enough in elevation for that. :)

hobo said...

That was the question around here, too until the rain came, melted all the snow and wouldn't stop raining. Then they all complained about the rain ... and the mud. Following the rain, the wind came, and then wind and more rain.... pretty soon everyone complained about the wind, the rain and the mud. Shocking, I know. haha

I'm just glad the snow is gone ;-)

Rev. Paul said...

hobo, it wouldn't be so bad here if the mud didn't turn instantly to dust. We have so much volcanic ash & glacial silt in the dirt that at the first sign of a breeze, there's a 100-foot-thick layer of yellow dust in the air which hangs over the main roads.

But yes, we complain about it, too.

Toirdhealbheach Beucail said...

Wow. That's almost 7-8 months by my count.

Rev. Paul said...

Seven months is about the average. In 2004, the snow didn't disappear until mid-May.