The treacherous weather being reported across the nation may pale in comparison to what’s happening at one Alaska national park, where just over 6 feet of snow fell in December. According to the Bellingham Herald Denali National Park got an average of 2.5 inches a day — for 29 days, the National Park Service says.
That’s a lot, even by Alaska’s hefty standards. Just over 74 inches of snow fell at the park Dec. 1-29, “making this the snowiest December on record.” Most of it (54.8 inches) came Dec. 23-29, the park said. “Sixty inches (five feet) of snow were on the ground on December 29th, which sets a new record for highest snow depth,” the park wrote Dec. 31 on Facebook.
The numbers are in: it’s been a record-breaking week in Denali! Here are the stats, as measured by the Denali National Park Headquarters weather station. The record from this weather station dates back to 1923. – 54.8 inches of snow fell during the seven-day period of December 23–29. – 74.5 inches of snow fell this December through the 29th, making this the snowiest December on record. – 60 inches of snow were on the ground on December 29th, which sets a new record for the highest snow depth.
– 5.75 inches of precipitation fell during the four-day period of December 26–29, making this the wettest four-day period on record. – 8.33 inches of precipitation fell this December through the 29th, making this the wettest December on record and the second wettest month on record after August 2019.