From: Anchorage Daily News, Saturday, 4/26/08
Anchorage continues to dig out from a snowfall that set a record for the day and the month.The National Weather Service says 17.2 inches fell at its office just south of Anchorage’s international airport and 22 inches fell in northeast Anchorage on Friday and Saturday.
The heaviest snow fell between 3 and 6 p.m. Friday at a rate of almost two inches per hour.
The monthly total at the weather service office is now 29.7 inches, breaking a record from 1963 when 27.6 inches fell during April.
The 15.5 inches that fell Friday is the third-most for any one day in Anchorage. The record is the 25.7 inches that fell six years ago on March 17, 2002.
From: Anchorage Daily News, 4/27/08
Springtime in Alaska, and the livin’ is beastly
… I should have known the recent warmth wouldn’t last. You just have to notice the signs. On Thursday, I realized there were no buds on the trees and no green shoots of grass had shown. That seemed odd after several days of warm weather.
It was as if the plants knew something was up.
The birds sure didn’t. As the snow continued to fall on Friday, I noticed confused ducks flying around, seemingly looking for a place to land. One duck finally found a slim open lead of water between the slush piling up in a roadside mud puddle. It didn’t look too happy.