Crews frazzled keeping up with above-average snowfall

WASILLA - Alaska may have a reputation as being a winter wonderland, but when the white stuff starts flying fast and furious, it's sno' joke.

"It's been an absolute rodeo this winter," said Chuck Braun, who for the past decade has been tasked with keeping Mat-Su Borough roads clear. "We've had snowfalls, major snowfalls, back-to-back snowfalls. By and large, when you take everything into account - especially up north where they got 35 inches of snow in 48 hours at one point - we have contractors working 24/7 just to keep the main roads open."

Like much of Southcentral Alaska, the borough is scrambling to keep up with heavier-than-normal snows. While other areas like Cordova, which has received more than 15 feet of snow since November, have literally been buried, the borough has been able to keep its main roadways open, Braun said. Sometimes just barely.

"Some things are falling behind," he said about the schedule contractors are able to keep in clearing roads. "We're behind on cutting the (snow) pack, but the primary responsibility now is to keep the roads open. Of course, when you get large quantities of snow dumps, you get large berms of snow in peoples' driveways."

Those who think this winter's snowfall seems more than usual would be right, said Dave Strickland, a hydrometeorological technician for the National Weather Service in Anchorage. It's difficult to get a full picture of how much snow different areas of the Valley have received so far this winter, he said, but there is one station that reports fairly accurately at the Four Corners area near the intersection of Trunk Road and the Palmer-Wasilla Highway.

Through Dec. 31, that station has measured 35.1 inches of snow, Strickland said, adding that 22.6 is normal.

"It's definitely above normal if you look at the whole pattern for Southcentral Alaska," he said. "In Anchorage at our (office) here, we've received 81.4 inches and normal is 42. We've got a fish hatchery (at Prince William Sound) that reports snowfall to us, and back in November they had 112 inches. I'm waiting for the December numbers, and I'm thinking it's going to be huge."

What the weather pattern means for the borough is long hours for crews working for the six contractors who clear local roads, Braun said. Because contracts for snow removal are bid and awarded ahead of time, they have to do the work for a set price. It still puts a strain on borough services, he said, including fielding calls inquiring about when ancillary roads may be cleared or property owners clearing snow into public rights of way.

"The biggest fear we have is when you get a year like this, one of the primary duties of the contractors is to keep enough room for snow storing available (on the shoulders of roads)," Braun said. "The contractors are worn to a frazzle. They've literally spent days in the seat. It's not a big deal if you have a 20-inch snow event then don't see anything for another 10 to 12 days. When you get five events in a 10-day cycle, there's not enough time to do anything but blow the (main) roads open."

Strickland is also a Palmer-area resident and said he sees the struggles local crews are dealing with.

"We're having a heck of time keeping it clear," he said. "The streets are getting smaller. I've noticed this is the most snow I've seen on the ground at one time at my house."

While the borough is tasked with keeping up with 16 road service areas spread out over an area the size of West Virginia, local cities report they are doing OK.

"We're fine so far," said Archie Giddings, Wasilla public works director. "I think we're coming up to the average snowfall for the year already. We're keeping up, it's just we're doing more in a shorter amount of time."

In Palmer, it's much the same, said Tom Cohenour, the city's public works director. In fact, up until about eight months ago, Cohenour served in the same capacity for the city of Cordova, which has made national news for its record snowfall. The National Guard has been called to that city in the past week to help its 2,300 residents dig out.

"Man, I'm glad we're not in Cordova," Cohenour said. "I used to be the public works director there, so I've been following that pretty closely."

Cordova has had 15 feet of snow since Nov. 1, said Allen Marquette, public information officer for the city's Incident Command Center.

The weight of the snow has collapsed some buildings and weakened others, he said. In December alone, 82 inches of snow fell, compared to 9.5 inches in December 2010.

"The last few days the weather's been kind of between rain and snow," Marquette said Thursday afternoon. "It's pretty sloppy. It rained pretty much all last night and it's raining now."

So, instead of being buried in snow, as temperatures drop again Cordova may be covered in ice, he said. "Take your pick."

"We've had three avalanches, two pretty small ones and a big one," he said. "The last avalanche is still on the road. What we're concerned about is February and March are our big snow months."

What those big snow months may bring is hard to predict, Strickland said.

"It's way above normal now," he said. "In the Valley, it's 12 inches above normal. As far as the rest of the winter, that's a very tough call."

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.