Alaska Weather (Anchorage, Valdez: entertainment, unique, addition)

[tigre79]

Took off to go to the store after clearing enough half-frozen slush off the windshield for the wipers to work. When I stopped at the corner of my street all the slush from the roof came down onto my windshield. Got out to clear it off so the wipers would work again, and the water and slush in the street was over the tops of my snow boots. Yeah, it's that kind of weather.

[blueflames50]

Update 3 p.m.: • The Christmas in Ice park in North Pole has been closed due to the weather and hazardous road conditions. The Community Tree Lighting will be postponed until Saturday, Dec. 10 at 6 p.m.

• DOT officials are advising people in the Fairbanks area to limit travel due to slippery roads. Crews are working, but travel is not advised at this time.

Update 12:35 p.m.: • Travel advisory issued for Parks Highway from Denali State Park north to Alaska. Freezing rain, high winds. Travel is not advised.

• Freezing rain reported in Interior Alaska. Roads are very slick. Please drive carefully.

• A travel advisory has been issued for several sections of the Dalton Highway due to warm temperatures, high winds and very slick roads. Chains are advised. Please be careful of crews working on the roads.

[NOTAM]

been wondering....how can folks get to work reliably on time daily throughout the winter months with the snow and ice? ok, yeah yeah..yall are used to driving in wintery conditions, but surely, they surely cant plow every single road that everyone lives on....and also i am sure there are more wrecks.
and how bout those people like me who have a very important job where attendance and being on-time are critical?
are employers just much more understanding and forgiving out there?

[blueflames50]

Originally Posted by NOTAM

been wondering....how can folks get to work reliably on time daily throughout the winter months with the snow and ice? ok, yeah yeah..yall are used to driving in wintery conditions, but surely, they surely cant plow every single road that everyone lives on....and also i am sure there are more wrecks.
and how bout those people like me who have a very important job where attendance and being on-time are critical?
are employers just much more understanding and forgiving out there?

way back when...haha..I always carried a gym bag with change of clothes/uniform/shoes, and personal items cuz if the relief couldn't make it into the hospital I was stuck...longest shift I did without being able to leave 4 days due to storm in Vermont...patients where brought in by snowmachine on sled! floor staff were able to rotate out but not triple trauma E.R's.

[Alaskapat528]

Originally Posted by NOTAM

been wondering....how can folks get to work reliably on time daily throughout the winter months with the snow and ice? ok, yeah yeah..yall are used to driving in wintery conditions, but surely, they surely cant plow every single road that everyone lives on....and also i am sure there are more wrecks.
and how bout those people like me who have a very important job where attendance and being on-time are critical?
are employers just much more understanding and forgiving out there?

Some are and some aren't. I've had employers who will say 'well this 'is' Alaska' and expect you to show up regardless.

[Jan Alaska]

At work on Friday over half the patients turned up late. The weather was mild but the roads had been turned into slush, we came close to rescheduling a couple of folks, if they have lived up here for even one winter then they know what the roads are like with the warmer weather and they really should make the effort to leave a little extra travel time. Patients for Monday mornings surgery have been called and asked to make sure they arrive on time or their surgery will be cancelled.

[tigre79]

A couple winters ago Valdez got 7 feet of snow over two days, and my manager at work called to tell everyone that it was okay if they couldn't make it in. His roof sheds onto his driveway, and he couldn't get his car out. Turns out, everyone else was already at work and he was the only one who couldn't get there. :-D

[Jan Alaska]

Main roads around Wasilla aren't too bad, parking lot at Fred Meyer was cleared, suburban roads do have some icy patches on them so with the expected freeze again over the next couple of days will have to watch out but it does look at least like the main roads might not glaze over too badly.

[LittleJazzyP]

Originally Posted by tigre79

A couple winters ago Valdez got 7 feet of snow over two days, and my manager at work called to tell everyone that it was okay if they couldn't make it in. His roof sheds onto his driveway, and he couldn't get his car out. Turns out, everyone else was already at work and he was the only one who couldn't get there. :-D

[ShipOfFools42]

7 feet in two days?!?!?!? Holy freaking god I absolutely will live in that town for at least one winter; that is just something I have to witness. That and a sliding dumpster, provided it's not sliding at me. Pretty much every time you post something about the place, Tigre, it reads like an advertisement to my bizarre mind. The location, climate, scenery, size, fishing industry, it just really seems like the kind of town I could be really proud to call my home. I'm sure you feel the same way about the place, at least sometimes. I mean, its "moat" is Thompson Pass; that is just awesome. "Yeah, you can come visit, but you've gotta navigate the Pass, and they might get 15 feet of snow up there, so you might get stuck." Potentially inconvenient/dangerous? Sure. But so cool and, I don't know, adventurous I guess.

Sorry this is slightly off-topic, but that's what cool places do to me (and I'm sure at least some people here feel the same way): it makes me really happy and really proud to live there. I can talk to my friends and just describe my daily activities and it's cool to them. And that's just living here. I can't imagine the sense of pride you feel from living in a place like Valdez. And speaking of Valdez, I'm going nuts down here. It's been just barely too warm to snow, and raining. !!!!!!!!!!!