low snow

The Clear Fire burns in the Kobe Ag subdivision near Healy on July 6, 2022. That year was the state's seventh largest wildfire season on record, with 591 wildfires burning over 3 million acres. It was also a year with significantly early snowmelt.

News

Early snowmelt could accelerate Alaska’s wildfire seasons, UAF research says

Shelby Herbert

Analysis of almost a century of Alaska fire weather data shows that many of Alaska’s most extreme wildfire seasons started with an early thaw.

Lauren Oliver, civil engineer in the district’s Hydraulics and Hydrology Section, begins to take measurements at one of the telemetry sites in the Chena River basin April 30. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Alaska District partners with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to measure winter snowfall levels and collect additional data from nine monitoring stations in the Chena River basin. The agencies analyze this information to estimate the volume of runoff when the snowpack melts in the mountains.

Local News

Engineers measure snowpack to predict flooding

USACE monitors flood risk from breakup conditions in Chena River basin after record snow/rain events last winter.

Beyond The Weather

02-05-21 Beyond The Weather

Dan Bross

KUAC's Dan Bross talks with Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy climate specialist Rick Thoman about the causes and possible effects of below…

Beyond The Weather

01-22-21 Beyond The Weather

Dan Bross

KUAC's Dan Bross talks with Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy climate specialist Rick Thoman about how snow levels decline even without…

Beyond The Weather

01-15-21 Beyond The Weather

Dan Bross

KUAC's Dan Bross talks with Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy climate specialist Rick Thoman about this winter's snow drought in the…