Anchorage broke its January snowfall record Tuesday as another winter storm dumped more than 10 inches of snow on the city, prompting early school dismissals and snarling traffic.

As of 3 p.m., the National Weather Service office in West Anchorage had recorded 10.6 inches of new snow, bringing the month’s total to 39.7 inches — the most ever recorded for January, eclipsing a record set in 2000.

What’s even more remarkable is the nearly 3 inches of liquid held in that snow, along with some rain that fell during the month, according to National Weather Service climate researcher Brian Brettschneider.

“The amount of precipitation we’ve already received in January is what we typically get from January 1st through about May 10th,” he said. “And there’s been almost 10 years where we didn’t even have this much precipitation all the way through the end of June.”

Forecasters cautioned that driving could be very difficult, especially during the evening commute.

The Anchorage School District sent students home early, except for those in Girdwood, and canceled all after-school programs. Parents were watching for updates about possible school closures Wednesday.

As of about 4 p.m. Tuesday, the Anchorage Police Department reported 99 vehicles in distress – sometimes referred to as “ditch divers” – and 36 collisions, including 12 with injuries.

“People should take their time and drive carefully,” police spokesman Adam Nicely said. “Whenever people are leaving at the end of the workday, they should make sure that they take the time to get home safely and just keep a safe distance from other drivers, if they have to suddenly brake, and account for the conditions.”

Plow crews were working around-the-clock to, first, clear main roads before turning to Anchorage’s residential areas, said Kenny Friendly, a spokesman for the city’s plowing operations. Clearing all of the city’s main thoroughfares would likely take up to 12 hours after the snow ended, he said.

“There’s a lot of citizens who are calling with calls of service for their area, and we understand, but just please be patient,” Friendly said. “We’ll get you on the list, and we’ll be out there as soon as we can.”

And with state plow trucks responsible for state-maintained roadways in Anchorage, Friendly said some calls for service might be forwarded to state officials.

But for those who want to watch the city’s plows in action, from the comfort of their homes or offices, Friendly recommended the city’s tracker, which shows the plow trucks’ current location by GPS and their uplifting names.

“Oh yeah, absolutely, Bladey Gaga, The Berminator, Slick Sleddin’, I think, is one of the new ones that got put on there,” Friendly said with a laugh.

Crews had just gotten done clearing the city’s streets after the last major snowfall as the latest round rolled in, Friendly said.

“We were able to finish up in time just before this week’s snow event,” he said. “But yeah, it’s been a busy January, for sure.”

Brettschneider, the climatologist, said January is not typically a snowy month for Anchorage – the snowiest, on average, is December – but as Alaska’s climate has warmed, the city has seen snowier and snowier Januarys.

“I think, historically, that’s because it used to be a lot colder in January, and it’s just harder to squeeze out as much moisture in January, it being the coldest month,” Brettschneider said. “But now that January has warmed 5 or 6 degrees, that limitation really is no longer in effect.”

With four days left in January, Anchorage’s record snowfall for the month could, theoretically, continue to pile up, but the latest storm was expected to peter out, Brettschneider said.

“After we stop snowing during this event, we probably won’t add anything to it before the calendar changes,” he said.

___

This story was originally published by Alaska Public Media and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

News from © The Associated Press, 2026