Snow From North To South

Here's what it looked like in Denali Friday.  Lots of white, including the sky.  Still a beautiful landscape. 

As we drove back to the Park entrance it was snowing even harder.  OK, Denali is 200 miles north of Anchorage and the elevation is a couple thousand feet higher.  And the weather in one part of the state is different from other parts.  Let's head home for a little more seasonable weather.

screen shot from NOAA

Here's the Alaska weather map for today, but it couldn't have been much different yesterday.  That turquoise strip from North to South - that's what we drove.  It snowed from the Park to mile 142.  Then it seemed to change to rain, which was clearer when I realized that the snow wasn't lining the highway any more, trees weren't snowy, and just patches in the woods.  But at mile 67 it changed back to snow.  And then we got to Anchorage.

And this morning the deck had covering of light snow.

 

When we got to Anchorage in 1977, the gardening rule of thumb was not to plant anything outside until June 1.  You never knew when there would be a frost.  But over the years it got warmer and warmer and planting some hardier plants could be done May 1.  

This doesn't negate climate change.  The planet is, overall, warming.  But climate 'change' means just that.  Lots of weird weather as oceans warm, currents change, and there's lots of volatility.