Winter is coming early to Alaska and its 238,000 rural residents are getting ready. That includes one area where they may see a record 12 feet of snow this week.
By Sunday, the Church Mountains could see 72-78 inches of snow, and 27-33 inches more by night.
Then on Monday, 17-33 more inches.To put this into perspective, this would almost cover a one-story home.
Thomas Pass is the “snowiest place in Alaska,” and it holds the record for 62 inches in a single day dating back to 1955. It also holds the two-day snowfall record with 121 inches.
The reason for the snow is an atmospheric river. The jet stream is moving subtropical air into southeastern Alaska, and the moist air moving north is pushing up against a low pressure center, which brings freezing temps.