Highest Snowfall in Anchorage in 57 Years

Anchorage breaks seasonal snowfall record

By the CNN Wire Staff

April 8, 2012 -- Updated 1210 GMT (2010 HKT)

Snow caused the roof to collapse in the auditorium at the Abbott Loop Community Church in Anchorage, Alaska.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Anchorage has had more than 133 inches of snow for the 2011-2012 season
• This breaks the previous snowfall record for a season, set 57 years ago
• The U.S. overall saw less snow, with the 4th least snow cover recorded

(CNN) -- While winter is a distant memory for most Americans, it continues unabated in Anchorage, Alaska -- where a new bout of precipitation this weekend helped the city break its record for seasonal snowfall, at more than 133 inches (3.38 meters).

Some 3.4 inches of snow -- and counting -- had fallen as of 4 p.m. (8 p.m. ET) Saturday in Anchorage, according to the National Weather Service.

That brought the seasonal total for the city to 133.6 inches -- breaking the record of 132.6 inches, set in 1954-1955.

And with snow continuing to fall into early Sunday morning, the figure promises to get even larger.

"Okay...now the records broken, could you please make the snow go away??!!" wrote one commenter of the Facebook page of the weather service's Alaska division.

Another said, "Oh, it's not chilly. I'm wearing a tee-shirt and shorts while cooking outside and enjoying this beautiful springtime weather @ 35 degrees."

While snow is nothing new to Alaskans, this year's record haul in Anchorage is notable given that the average seasonal snowfall is 74.5 inches.

And it's also striking considering that, elsewhere in the United States, this past winter was known more for its warmth than its white stuff.

Across the United States, the 2011-2012 winter season was the fourth warmest ever recorded, according to the National Climatic Data Center.

The agency's report, issued in March, found that a relative dearth of snow throughout the contiguous United States contributed to snow cover levels in North America being the fourth lowest since such records were first kept.

Still, as much as Anchorage residents can revel in being standouts when it comes to snow in their country, they hardly merit top billing in their own state.

Other record-setters in the state include Haines, a community about 92 miles north of Juneau that saw about 360 inches of snow for the 2011-2012 season -- smashing the previous record of 309 inches set five years ago, according to the weather service. end quote from:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/04/08/us/alaska-record-snowfall/

Basically this is twice the normal snowfall for Anchorage, Alaska. We have also had an unusual weather pattern from California North into Oregon and Washington and beyond. Lately there have been storms that have been spiraling north and hitting California to Oregon and northward and then spiraling back out into the Pacific Ocean but not traveling across the U.S. eastward which has been the prevailing direction for storms in the past. But then, weather isn't really normal anywhere this year.