![]() Only a few days in, several mushers-veterans among them-were forced to drop out because of injuries due to crashes.Ĭaption by Caitlyn Kennedy. Lack of snow also made it harder for mushers to brake their speeding dogs. Last year, sparse snow cover at several points along the trail exposed roots, tree stumps, and other hazardous obstacles. Fortunately for the competitive race, around 4 inches of snowfall fell in Fairbanks as recently as March 7, priming trail conditions at the new starting line. The next day brought “very un-Iditarod-like conditions,” with rain falling at a balmy 40 degrees. According to news reports, city crews delivered up to 350 dump truck loads of snow the night beforehand. ![]() The 11-mile ceremonial start, which remained in Anchorage this year, was held on Sunday. Meanwhile, over on the East Coast, Boston had its snowiest month of any month since records began with 64.8 inches of snow. As of March 1, the seasonal snow total was only at 20.5 inches. Anchorage closed out the month of February with only 1.1 inches of snow-the fifth lowest February snow total on record. Mild winter temperatures have brought hazardous freezing rain events in place of snow in many locations across Alaska. According to the Third National Climate assessment, Alaska has warmed more than twice as rapidly as the rest of the United States over the past 60 years. Overall, Alaska experienced its 7th warmest winter on record this year, with an average temperature 11.1☏ above the 1971-2000 average, marking the warmest winter for the state since 2002-03. If you happened to be in Fairbanks or Nome on February 24, for example, you would have been enjoying warmer temperatures (29☏ and 28☏, respectively) than Chicago (16☏) or New York City (18☏). This is related to the warm-cold split that developed in the atmosphere over the Pacific and North America this past winter, which favored cold, snowy conditions in the east and left the western half of the country unseasonably warm and dry. This year’s route is 18.65 miles shorter than the Anchorage-Nome route.Įxcept for three weeks in late January / early February, Alaska has been stuck in a pattern of mild temperatures since November. At Galena, the trail takes an additional detour, heading north to Huslia. This year, teams arriving from Fairbanks will intersect with the northern route at the town of Ruby. Upon leaving Anchorage, the trail splits into northern (used in even years) and southern (used in odd years) routes at the town of Ophir. ![]() The historical Iditarod trail routes are shown in black. Anchorage had only trace amounts of snow while Fairbanks was covered in 8-12 inches. Snow depth increases from gray (one foot or less), to blue, to white (3 feet or more). The map at right show model-estimated snow depth across the state as of March 9, 2015. Back in February, officials decided to reroute the trail due to a lack of snow cover and safety concerns. Yesterday, however, the race kicked off in Fairbanks, 250 miles farther north, for the first time since 2003 and only the second time in the history of the race. That is nearly a foot below average through this part of winter.Alaska’s famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race traditionally starts in the southern coastal city of Anchorage. ![]() 1, just over 13 inches of snow have been reported at O'Hare. On average, February is the second-snowiest month of the year with just under 11 inches normally falling.Īny snow this week will put a dent in our snowfall deficit, but we have a long way to go to catch up with average. So far this February we have seen just a trace of snow. I expect a dusting to maybe an inch for areas south of the city then increasing to 4 to 6 inches well north of Chicago with most areas getting something between, around 1 to 4 inches. We should see a bit more than the Fox Model is forecasting but a bit less than the GFS Model. I'm thinking the actual snowfall may be a blend of these models. It is now calling for 5 to nearly 8 inches of new snow for the far northern and northwest suburbs. The GFS Model is keeping snowfall under an inch for most areas south of the city. ![]()
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