S-Central Alaska A Warm, Soggy Mess - Dog Weight Trial Canceled

[hatrack]

(No, not the Iditarod - that comes later!)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- You might expect January in Alaska to be frightfully frigid. But this year, in some parts, you barely even need a coat outside.

South-central Alaska is so warm, an annual winter dog weight-pulling contest in Anchorage has been canceled because there's not enough snow. Kenai Peninsula roads have taken a beating with constant freezing and thawing. Winters in the state can vary wildly, as any old-timer knows. But weather records dating back to 1917 show that most months of January have some kind of warming episode, said Bob Hopkins, chief meteorologist with the Anchorage office of the National Weather Service.

"It would be more unusual if we didn't have a couple of 40-degree days," Hopkins said. "Generally, those days are windy, mucky, slippery and just plain lousy."

The towns of Homer and Palmer had high temperatures of 46 degrees Tuesday, and it reached 43 degrees in Anchorage. But it was expected to cool down Wednesday, with a high of 37."

EDIT

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Warm%20Alaska

[roguevalley]

1. its sunny and warm, very little snow and I'm amazed here in

Soldotna. We're eighty miles north of Homer and they are probably at close to 50. Watching Colorado after this is astounding.