The light rain which fell overnight on our frozen streets left a layer of water on top of the half-melted snow and ice.

As a test, I hit the brakes at 15 mph on a flat, straight street, and promptly slid 100' before stopping.

It's still near 40° outside, and still raining. The only good part is that the highways have been sprayed with brine and are clear, although mucky. But every silver lining has a cloud (heh), and headlights are opaque within a minute of joining the commute. So once you're on the highway, you can go ... but you can't see where.

It's yucky out there.

AccuHunch guesses that this will continue until sometime tomorrow, before changing back to show tomorrow night. Then, they predict, we'll get 8 or 10 inches of wet, white stuff by Wednesday morning. That'll be fun.


Not.

It Might Have Been a Good Idea (Updated)

to stay home this morning. The news reports are filled with dire warnings about freezing rain and black ice. The Nat'l Weather Service announcement about it, yesterday, went as far as asking people to stay off the roads if possible.

 

The Book o' Faces has a page devoted to those of us who commute from the north into Anchorage. It was in a constant state of update this morning, as drivers posted about the multiple ditch-divers (know as free-style parking, here), various accidents, and icy curves.

 

While I was at my desk, reading all these stories of gloom and doom, there was an earthquake. Not a bad one, mind you, at least as far as our experience of it. Turns out it was only a 4.7, and nearly 100 miles away. It was felt more strongly by those in the flats, especially on the other side of the ridge.

 

But I'm at work now, and the morning drive wasn't that bad, except in our little town at the beginning. Everything was truly glazed and icy, there, and just standing was a trick. The first stop sign we encountered might as well not have been there, as we slid right through it as though the brakes weren't engaged.

 

But the rain hasn't reached Anchorage, so there's that. At least, not yet.

 

But sometimes you have to think that perhaps Ma Nature is trying to get your attention. I may wish I had listened, by the time this is all done.

 

 

UPDATE: the weather deteriorated quickly after I got to Anchorage at 0630. Those a half-hour behind me reported strong winds, rain, and ice. Lots of ice.  The "special weather statement" now predicts icy conditions through 1415 today, covering thousands of square miles. (That's still a very small part of Alaska, but it's where a great many of us live.)

Iron Dog Racers Begin in Slush & Muck

Slush Cup Dept:

More like iron ducks than Iron Dogs, the teams of snowmachines racing in what is supposed to be the world's longest, toughest snowmobile race were paddle-tracking their way through the Alaska Range late Sunday afternoon.

Water-covered ice on Big Lake, rather than snow cover. Bill Roth/ADN

Never in the 31-year history of the 2,000-mile epic race had anyone seen anything like this. On a balmy day, racers started at two-minute intervals down a water-covered chute at Big Lake north of Anchorage and then slush-cupped their way north.

[snip]  Snowmachines speeding through wet, heavy glop sprayed slush everywhere. The snow resembled wet cement, and it slowed the early going.

I know most of you have more snow than you know what to do with. We hardly have any at all.


It's Everywhere Dept:

Fairbanks North Star Borough schools are closed Monday because of icy conditions, the district's website said, and all school-related classes are canceled as well because of the freezing rain.

"Interior roads are covered in ice," the DOT wrote on Facebook. "All available trucks are out sanding, but please remember that sand stays on the roads for a limited time."


The DOT also advised that the Parks Highway in the vicinity of Talkeetna had "difficult" driving conditions and black ice Sunday morning, as temperatures hovered around 36 degrees. Rain showers were expected to continue, and temperatures in the area were expected to reach the 40s on Monday, according to the NWS forecast.

It was even raining in the far-flung Western Alaska community of Nome, which was experiencing temperatures above freezing and rain falling Sunday, according to the DOT.
 

 Accidental Shooting Dept: 

A 4-year-old boy from Wasilla was shot through the leg, after his mother's gun fell out of its holster and discharged, Alaska State Troopers wrote in a dispatch, Saturday afternoon. 

At around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, troopers responded to reports of a child with a gunshot wound to the leg, at 4900 E Palmer-Wasilla highway.

Investigations revealed that "as the family was getting out of their pickup truck in the parking lot the mother's .357 magnum revolver fell out of her holster and struck the pavement by the hammer which caused the revolver to discharge a round," troopers wrote.

Troopers wrote that the fired round struck the child "just above the knee then exited his leg and lodged in the trim of the building."

 

Slip Slidin' Away

Special Statement

Statement as of 4:33 AM AKST on January 15, 2015

 ...Very slick roads this morning in the Anchorage area...
Rainfall overnight has caused some very slick Road conditions across the Anchorage bowl for the morning commute. While air temperatures remained above freezing overnight for most areas...the Road surfaces were below freezing allowing the rain to freeze. 

Oh, joy.

Later.

Ice Ice Baby

Freezing Rain Advisory

Statement as of 4:33 AM AKST on January 08, 2015

 ...Freezing Rain Advisory remains in effect until noon akst today...

* ice accumulation...less than one tenth of an inch.

* Timing...light freezing rain will begin early this morning and continue through the morning hours then taper off around noon.

* Impacts...travel may be difficult. Be prepared for slippery roads.

The nice cold air was here for a few days, but now temps are heading north again (if you'll pardon the expression) and we're back in the icy/melty/wintry mix.

Dang it.

For those of you who admonished me, last fall, to keep the winter weather up here: you'll have to be meaner to the weatherman than I was. He's ignoring us.

* * * * *

And speaking of cold weather:

For the fourth time, to diminishing fanfare, Lonnie Dupre is trying to do what has never been done: Reach the summit of Mount McKinley, alone, in the supremely inhospitable month of January.

Three previous attempts --  which started in December of 2010, 2011 and 2012  -- ended with the adventurer retreating from the mountain after being pinned down for days in snow trenches, nearly suffocated by blizzards and half-frozen by temperatures of 35 below.

Lonnie Dupre leaves base camp on the Kahiltna Glacier December 18, 2014. He is attempting to climb Denali solo.        John Walter Whittier

Sloppy April Weather

Anchorage side streets are ice rinks; more weather woes on the way

Roads are slick now, with water covering the ice on many side streets in Anchorage. The National Weather Service is forecasting rain into Monday morning for the Anchorage and Mat-Su areas, with widespread gusts of 35 mph to 40 mph and temperatures in the 40s.

It's raining steadily this morning, with winds at 15 to 30 mph across town & temps in the 40s. When I pulled into work this a.m., there was a lake nearly a foot deep in the low spot. Our maintenance team is out there now with a front-end loader, a vacuum truck, and six guys trying to clear blockages while moving water from the temporary lake to a drainage ditch that isn't flooded.

There are a LOT of those this morning. The Daily Worker News says all local schools are closed, too. That almost never happens except during really bad blizzards.

* * * * *

There's not much else going on yet, so I stop before I ramble. Thanks for swinging by, friends.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

If only it were snowing ...

In an apparent counterpoint to last year's record snowfall & steady cold, this winter has already been marked by unseasonably warm spells, rain, and ice. We hardly ever get ice, except this year.

Today is no different: we're under a freezing rain "advisory", as Accu-Hunch Weather guesses we'll get a quarter-inch of ice this morning before temps get warm enough to melt it all again, later today. Tomorrow, they allow it'll get up to 46.

January is usually our cold month. Oh well, I have to drive Younger Daughter to her job downtown at 7 am, about 10 miles away. Sounds like it could be ... let's call it an adventure due to slick streets. My studded snow tires are on their last winter, but should still be okay on ice as long as neither I nor anyone else does anything stupid out there.

Okay, I won't do anything stupid, and will give everyone else as wide a berth as Saturday morning traffic allows.

* * * * *

U.S. Fish & Wildlife in Alaska had proposed setting aside 187,000 square miles as habitat for endangered polar bears. That's larger than California, for the record.

A couple of problems with that: the Federal gov't already controls over half of our land (don't even get me started), and Alaska's polar bears aren't endangered. In fact, the population is up, here. It's down in Canada's Northwest Territory.

On Friday, a federal judge threw out the plan, saying it was an overreach, citing "substantive and procedural deficiencies."

U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline, in a written order dated Thursday, said the designation was too extensive and presented "a disconnect between the twin goals of protecting a cherished resource and allowing for growth and much needed economic development." He sent the matter back to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ...

The suit was filed by a coalition of Native groups, oil companies, and State of Alaska.

I'm telling you, if the feds get their way, they'd have all of us live somewhere else, turning the entire state into a national park. To paraphrase Capt. Barbossa, I'm disinclined to acquiesce to their desires.

* * * * *

I saw on Fox News last night that Alaska was designated with "widespread" flu cases, like 46 other states. According to local officials, we're only at the moderate level. They're still preparing for the worst, though. That's wise; better to be prepared than surprised.

* * * * *

Ah well, it's 6 a.m. I should probably pour a cup of coffee & start my day. Take care out there, y'hear?

Hey! Let's Be Careful Out There

Not a fit day out for man or beast!

Nine-Car Pileup Being Cleared on New Seward Highway (here in mid-town Anchorage - Paul)

Glenn Highway Inbound Lane Reopens After Multiple Wrecks (just north of Anchorage)

Not Anchorage

 

Monday 11/30

Good morning. It was 18 when we arose at 5 a.m., but has now risen to 21. AccuHunch guesses we'll get much warmer today, perhaps rising to the freezing mark as an inch of two of snow eventually changes over to rain.

That's what we need: cold rain falling on frozen ground that's already covered in icy snow. Can you say "slick"?

Speaking of rhetorical questions, did you ever wish morning didn't come so early in the day?

There's little of interest to Outsiders in our local news. Heck, there's little of interest to us, and we live here.

Have a good one, folks, and thanks for stopping by.

Topsy-Turvy Weather

It's 44 degrees this morning, and windy. There were gusts of 105 mph on the hillside above us, overnight. While it's dying down now (to 15 to 30 mph), the wind had the effect of glazing the ice-covered streets and parking lots, as well as causing a great deal of snow-melting.

The school districts, colleges, and local bus service have all been canceled again today, and the local electric co-op is working overtime to fix power outages due to fallen power-lines.

It's amazing: we handled two weeks of subzero weather just fine, albeit with grumbling aplenty. Now that it's 20 degrees warmer than normal, all h*** breaks loose. Go figure.

Our normal high for mid-January is 22, and lows around 9 or 10 degrees. One week ago, it was 20 below zero, a 40-degree departure from normal. Now we've shifted 60 degrees in the other direction.

Accu-Hunch, ever faithful, is calling for near-normal temps with snow, or a rain-snow mix, by the weekend. So if our temperatures are going down, that tends to mean the Lower 48 warms back up.

In the meantime, you're freezing and we're melting. Let's hope things go back to normal soon.

Freezing Rain, Travel Discouraged

Good morning! Quite a few of you awoke to the arctic blast that was sitting on top of Alaska for the last three weeks, and are facing dangerous wind chills. If I may: dress in layers, and avoid cotton clothing. Alaskans have a saying: "Cotton kills; wear wool."

We have 30 degrees and light to moderate rain, which is freezing on contact with the roads. Having been below zero for such a long period, the ground is well-frozen.

So now the streets and highway (we only have the one) are ice-covered, all the schools in these two boroughs - comprising almost 22,000 square miles - are closed. The State troopers and local police are advising people to stay off the roads if possible.

That's nice, but as usual, the employers are the sticking point: they have an unreasonable expectation that people will show up for work! Oh, well ... many are going to be a bit late, today, Mr. Employer. Deal with it.

Stay warm & out of the wind, if you can. We have warmer air than we like, so we'll send it on down to you, too. It make take a few days ...