Big Alaska Storm Headed To The Lower 48?

It's unusual for us here in Southcentral Alaska to get this much snow at one time. There was 6" on the ground before we got another 8" today. Supposed to be another 8-16" tonight and tomorrow. Local (relative . . . within 100 miles) mountain passes are closed with zero visibility.

Over the years, I've been watching our weather patterns head southeast and slam the midwest with snow and the southeast US with ice and rain. It seems it takes about five days to travel from here to the midwest.

I'm curious to see if what I've seeing is true or not, and I'm asking you to report your weather to see if you're affected by this storm. It's slow-moving, no wind, so it might take several days to reach the west coast US and a week to reach the widwest.

If anyone can give me a heads up to watch where "my" weather comes from, I'd be grateful. The radars I've seen don't show where it's coming from - I suspect Siberia but don't know for sure. Links would be welcome.

Apologies ahead of time for my weather ignorance. I rely on wunderground.com.

Since Gulf Stream is getting weaker and moving about 1,2 to south in 6 months , it is possible that it's unussual movement affected NAC (North Atlantic Current) in some way to release a slight portion of Arctic air masses which formed the storm at the first. The weather here , in Lithuania (Northern Europe) has been very unpredictible. The weather reports indicated that there would be -11C during the day. Unfortunetly at 15:00 the cold raged up to -16C. Our city hasn't seen any snow in few weeks , which is odd as well.

reply to post by DreamingsFree


Just out of curiosity, where do you live in Southcentral? I know that when I lived in Anchorage and Valdez for a span of 12 years we always got that amount of snow every year. Especially in Valdez. I saw it snow 36 inches in less than 8 hours there. No kidding!

reply to post by DreamingsFree


Usually the big storms that hit the Midwest are:

Alberta Clipper

Panhandle Hook

Delta Low (this is almost identical to a Panhandle Hook, it just originates in the Mississippi Delta area.)

We do get absolutely frigid Arctic air masses that move down on us from the north via Canada. When my best friend and his wife lived in Homer, AK their winters were often less cold than what we had in Chicago. (Although we never got the amount of snow they got.)

For your specific storm, the 6-10 day forecast for the Chicago area is relatively calm. I'm guessing your storm will not make its way here.

Here in northeast Florida the weather has been quite strange too. Yesterday it was around mid 80's and today it will be in the mid 60's it has been doing this rollercoaster ride for a while now and they say I think starting thursday or friday that we will have highs in the 50's and lows in the 30's for about 10 days. I love the cool weather trust me i'm not complaining, but if you know anything about Florida it definitaly should not have highs in the 50's and lows in the 30's for more than 3 - 4 days at the most.

Thank you all for your responses.

Setuxas, "my" weather could be coming from your area. The forecast is for temps down to 20 below F over the next week. Apparently, the moisture missed you (so far!).

Wrangell76, I'm in Wasilla. Valdez set a record today of 38.7 inches of snow for 12/15, shattering the record of 10.1. Here, we got 18" in two days, and it's still snowing. It's the most snow I've seen here since 1996. Anchorage didn't get as much snow. Guess you have to be in the right place, eh?! I love it. Winter wonderland and all that.

Toromos, thank you for the links that have given me much to explore. I too have noticed that the northern US has had worse winters than we've had here, many times being much colder and having more ice and snow storms. Over the past several years, I've started to feel like we live in the banana belt! But, then the temp drops to 40 below F with fierce winds and the harshness wipes the smile from my face. :-)

Misoir, bask in the 30s and 50s. You're the first person who lives in a warm climate who I've heard say they welcome the cool temps. Most just complain about the cold. Personally, I'd rather live in the cold and wrap up for the weather than be in the heat and not be able to get away from it (grew up in NJ with the humidity and heat and oddly never did acclimate).

Again, thanks for your responses. Talking about the weather (here, anyway) is not small talk!

Hey OP, it is funny that you mention that. I remember some weird lady talking about how you folks saw not nearly enough snow last winter (In Anchorage/Mat-Su), yet Anchorage received 110", which is within their top Five Snowiest Winters I believe (It goes to show how some people make irrational claims).

I am in Washington, D.C., and please, keep sending us this weather! I love Snow, and Cold (I might even be heading up your way in the near future).

I am certain that you also know that Edmonton, AB recently broke temperature records as well. On December 13th (Sunday), they hit -51 Degrees Fahrenheit, which broke their previous record of -33 Degrees Fahrenheit (Which was set in 2008). Downtown Edmonton broke a record as well, when they hit -37 Degrees Fahrenheit, which surpassed their previous cold record of -27 Degrees Fahrenheit (Set in 1882). Oh yeah, if you also factor in the Wind Chill to the -51F reading, it was actually -76 Degrees Fahrenheit (I am certain that will wake you up really quickly, if you should decide to take a stroll lol). Heck, I have no idea how my Husky will feel about -76F Wind Chills.

In my area:

Many people wearing sleeveless clothing.

Driving today, had the windows down. Nice breeze. Warm past few days.

Actually turned on AC yesterday just for a short while.

Regular birds at the feeders. Haven't seen many finches although the thistle is out for them.

reply to post by TheAgentNineteen


Maybe the Anchorage lady was referring to snow at Alyeska, a popular skiing area south of Anchorage. The mountains get more snow, of course, but if Anchorage got 110" last year, I'd know about it (about 40 miles north)!

I'll gladly send some cooler weather with snow your way! Six inches would be about enough to bring everything in DC to a standstill. Too bad it wouldn't stop the politics, though. :-)

I'll keep an eye on Edmonton. Thinking of moving there? The cold temps aren't a problem if you're geared up for it. Huskies are amazing survivors of the cold and snow. In fact, they seem to bask in it. Then again, a -76 windchill is challenging. I'm always awed by the Iditarod dogs.

reply to post by Alethea


Where are you (general area)?

Hawaii (Oahu) set record highs a few weeks ago (90s). Enjoy your warm temps for me. :-)

It's a winter wonderland here in Wyoming. Little chilly but not bad. There is snow on the ground and more to be expected, but that comes with living in the mountains.

So far it has been a warm wet winter which makes for toasty winter sports.

I live in the midwest and everyone's talking about how it's supposed to snow tonight. I just remembered this thread and figured I'd let you know. How exciting.

reply to post by sowerby


Did you get the snow you expected? We were deluged with two feet from one storm, which is unusual in the Valley. That was a week ago. Now it's melting and turning to ice, which is NOT unusual. Hope you had a snow. It really is magical.

reply to post by DaMod


I hear you about the winter wonderland. It's so serene and quiet, like a blanket of safety. I don't do winter sports, but I love standing out in the snow watching it fall. Simple pleasures. Living in the moment. Most of my "moments" like that are only when it's snowing or when I'm in my garden . . . gotta learn to feel that way about mundane stuff.