Record Snowfall in Alaska: National Guard Called In, Stores Running Out of Snow Shovels, Roofs Collapse, Major Roads Closed, Boats May Capsize (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on January 13, 2012
Record snowfall in Cordova, Alaska - state National Guard called in to help, stores sell out of snow shovels
This is shaping up to be a record season for snowfall in Alaska — the small commercial fishing city of Cordova, with a population well under 3,000, has been slammed especially hard.
There, snow has been so heavy that the Alaska National Guard has been called in for help and stores are running out of snow shovels.
From Washington Post, Alaska town hit with 15 feet of snow runs short of shovels as it braces for another blizzard:
In Alaska community blitzed by nearly 15 feet of snow was hit by another storm Tuesday and a new problem — a shortage of shovels.
A spokesman for the city of Cordova said officials had tried Anchorage, Fairbanks and other cities and finally turned to a manufacturer for a special order.
“It’s ironic, isn’t it? The state of Alaska — you’d think they’d be ahead of the game. It’s those logistical things you just don’t plan on, or you don’t think is going to be an issue,” said Allen Marquette by phone from the city on the east side of Prince William Sound.
The snow-weary city of 2,200 was promised new shovels to be manufactured Thursday and delivered two days later — but it will be too late for the “couple more feet” of snow that touched down Tuesday, accompanied by winds of 25 to 40 mph and gusts to 55.
The latest storm hit much of south-central Alaska. Avalanches along the Seward Highway closed the only route south out of Alaska’s largest city, cutting off Anchorage from neighborhoods to the south in Girdwood.
Department of Transportation spokesman Rick Feller said the department followed up with an even larger induced avalanche using explosives fired from a military-style howitzer.
“That showed there was a lot of pent-up energy, and it’s been released,” he said. The highway will remain closed until noon Wednesday.
The storm knocked out power to parts of Homer on the Kenai Peninsula. Drifts accumulated to 7 feet, Feller said, and the city put out an advisory to boat owners that 16 inches of snow could accumulate and boats should be cleared.
This newscast aired a few days ago.
State of Emergency Continues in Cordova, Alaska
From Alaska’s CBS KTVA 11 News, National Guard Hard at Work in Snow-Massed Cordova:
CORDOVA, ALASKA – The Alaska National Guard got right to work when front-end loaders and ice-cutters arrived in Cordova on the 11 p.m. ferry Sunday night. There is no road to the small Prince William Sound fishing village that has been inundated with 56 inches of snow since January 1, 2012. The weight has caused roofs to collapse and boats in the harbor are in danger of capsizing. That caused the mayor to declare a city emergency on Friday. Cordova is equipped to deal with snow, but not this much. Snow accumulation records have been set already this year in the Prince William Sound region.
*EDITOR’S NOTE* It had been incorrectly reported that 18 feet of snow had fallen in Cordova during the recent weeks prior to the publishing of this article. Eighteen feet of precipitation had fallen between November 1, 2011 and when this article was originally published.
The National Guard mission is two-fold. First, widen the snow-socked roads so more equipment and people can move in to relieve the pressure. Second, the city created a priority list of municipal-owned buildings it believes are in imminent danger of having the ceilings cave in. The majority of the fifty Guard members will concentrate on clearing the roofs of the hospital, high school, water treatment facility and the city pool. After those are declared safe, Guard members will deploy into neighborhoods to help residents save their houses.
Alaska: Snowmachining down the Street – Cordova Snowpocalypse 2012
From Discovery News, ANCHORAGE SMASHES SNOW RECORD:
Winter is just beginning to pick up across most of the United States, but Anchorage, Alaska, has already seen a heavy dose of it, smashing a winter record.
After a jaw-dropping blizzard on Monday (Jan. 9), a record-breaking 81.3 inches (207 centimeters) of snow has fallen in Anchorage this winter, the National Weather Service (NWS) said today (Jan. 12). That’s nearly 7 feet (2.1 meters) of snow.
The total is a new record for most snow from July to Jan. 11. This year’s total so far is nearly double what Anchorage usually receives by that date — certainly not the wimpy winter the rest of the country has had. The new record is 4 inches more than the previous record, set in 1977.
Every time a snowmaking storm has blow into the Prince William Sound this year, Anchorage has been in the bullseye for snowfall.
“It just seems like the storm track has been perfect for us each time,” said meteorologist Dave Stricklan, of the Anchorage NWS office.
The snow isn’t finished yet: Between 9 and 18 more inches (23 and 46 cm) of snow is forecast for Anchorage from late tonight through Thursday (Jan. 13).
[...]
The snow has been so heavy in the nearby town of Cordova that an emergency shipment of heavy-duty shovels was needed. A small Alaskan fishing village called Maine Bay has had more than 100 inches (254 cm) of snow in the first 11 days of January, Stricklan said.
This week’s snowy system hasn’t affected Nome, Alaska, in the far northwest part of the state, but they’ve been faced with another wintry problem. The 3,500 people in Nome are low on fuel after a massive storm swept their final winter shipment of fuel out to sea.
A Russian fuel tanker, guided by a Coast Guard icebreaker, is about 75 miles (121 kilometers) away from Nome, but it’s creeping through the frozen Bering Sea. The ice is so thick that a smoke-detector-size drone is flying ahead to take pictures of the ice so the captains can chart the best course.
The ice has been so thick and ocean currents so strong that the vessels advanced just 9 miles (14 km) before drifting back with the ice for 3 miles (4.8 km), reported the Anchorage Daily News.
About the author
Comments