Schools Closed

One thing we Alaskans pride ourselves in is rarely if ever closing the schools for inclimate weather. If it snows 18 or 24 inches overnight...no problem; a little bothersome maybe but we live in Alaska, that's expected to happen a couple of times during the winter. Our roads never get completely plowed clear of the snow in the winter time, we usually have 2-3 inches of snow that gets compacted down on the roads and turns to ice, especially on the side roads which may not get plowed until 3 or 4 days after the snow falls depending on where in town you live.

This morning we woke up to a heat wave, it was 35 at my house and is expected to warm up to 39, which is great, except for the rain that came with it. If it wasn't freezing rain when it was falling, it froze on the ground which has not yet warmed up with the rising temps. While we are used to driving through blizzards, through deep snow covered roads, and on 4 inches of ice; Mother Nature has found our Achilles heel, we can't drive on wet ice. Needles to say, the roads are very treacherous this morning and they have closed the schools. Besides the warm weather and the rain, we are experiencing high wind warnings of gusts up to 105 miles per hour. Lucky for me, I don't live in the part of town that will feel the brunt of the storm.

Felicia still made it into work this morning and I will be dropping Taryn off at her Auntie's house so I can go to work at 1. I expect it to be a very busy and lousy day for me at work with this bad weather spreading over much of the state. Airplanes don't handle freezing rain very well, nor do they handle icy runways with very much grace either.

I found this this morning about what we had at work yesterday:

The Associated Press

Published: January 13th, 2009 04:11 PM
Last Modified: January 13th, 2009 04:11 PM

KODIAK, Alaska - An Alaska Airlines jet has been grounded to check for damage after its pilots maxed out the engines trying to get it stopped on an extremely icy runway.

Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Caroline Boren tells radio station KXMT the flight crew found the runway far slipperier on Tuesday than the airport had led them to expect.

Boren says the pilots were able to get the plane stopped by the time they reached the end of runway 36 by using maximum power on the engines' reverse thrusters. The runway ends on the bank of the Buskin River.

The plane, a 737-400 with 34 passengers and five crew members aboard, taxied under its own power to the terminal. There were no reported injuries.

Also:

The Associated Press

Published: January 14th, 2009 10:04 AM
Last Modified: January 14th, 2009 10:09 AM

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Freezing rain is causing havoc in Alaska's largest city.

Schools and universities were closed Tuesday because of the treacherous driving conditions. The city's transportation department also has suspended bus service because of the icy roads.

Anchorage police reported 46 accidents between midnight and 8 a.m. Eight of those involved injuries. Another 100 cars were in the ditch.

Police are advising people to stay off the roads, if possible.

The Alyeska Ski Resort in Girdwood also closed Tuesday because of the conditions. High winds, with gusts of more than 100 mph, are forecast Tuesday afternoon in higher elevations and through Turnagain Arm.


Hopefully, this weather wont last for too much longer (forcasted for the next 2-3 days), I'd rather be back to -20 to -30 than have to deal with the freezing rain.

Hopefully, your weather is much better wherever you are!
-Jer