Industry News
The city of Anchorage, Alaska, has received more than 111 inches of snow so far this season, which is on track to beat its previous record of 134 inches. As of this week, this year has already been the seventh snowiest season on record, and there is a ton of time in the snow season, which makes it more than likely this could become the snowiest season ever recorded. The snowiest winters in Anchorage’s history are: 2011/12: 134.5 inches, 1954/55: 132.6 inches, 1955/56: 128.8 inches, 1994/95: 121.5 inches, and 2003/04: 113.9 inches.
As a result of the excessive snowfall, the city is facing structural problems and challenges which have led to major safety concerns. Even citizens of Anchorage who are accustomed to the cold are becoming impatient with the snow-covered sidewalks and streets, and the seemingly never-ending shoveling. So far, over ten roofs have collapsed due to the excessive snowfall, and, unfortunately, one of these collapses resulted in the death of one person. Ross Noffsinger, the city’s head building official, stated that on February 7, another structure collapsed due to the weight of the record-breaking snowfall.
Noffsinger further mentioned that the age of the structure and its state of neglect and abandonment might have contributed to its collapse. More than a thousand owners of commercial properties have received warnings from city officials alerting them to the possibility of roof failures during unusually high snowfall levels. Particularly vulnerable to collapse are buildings with flat roofs that were built before 1990 and have hardwood truss beams joined with metal gang nail plates.
After 107.9 inches of snow fell on Anchorage last year, this is only the second time since the winters of 1954–1955, that the city has seen consecutive years with more than 100 inches of snowfall. Not just Anchorage in Alaska is seeing near-record snowfall. Juneau, the nation’s capital, has received 69.5 inches of snowfall so far this month.
