The prettiest form of a fallen snow crystal, a stellar dendrite. These survived their fall through a cloud without colliding with other snowflakes. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

The prettiest form of a fallen snow crystal, a stellar dendrite. These survived their fall through a cloud without colliding with other snowflakes. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Alaska Science Forum: Snow is the state of Alaska

Fun facts about snow gleaned from a new book.

By Ned Rozell

In mid-March, it is snowing once again in Fairbanks, as it has snowed on many days since October. That makes it a good day to pick up Matthew Sturm’s new book, “Field Guide to Snow.”

Sturm is a snow scientist at University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute who has studied Alaska’s most common ground cover for decades. Many of his explorations are on long snowmachine traverses, undertaken about this time of year in the treeless Arctic.

Here are a few nuggets from “Field Guide to Snow,” published in 2020:

— Like people, most snowflakes are imperfect. At least 98% of snowflakes do not resemble symmetrical, six-pointed “stellar dendrites.” Most snowflakes are missing one or more arms. They can be shaped like pencils, bullets or arrowheads. Perfect stellar dendrites, the ideal snowflakes often featured in photos, have fallen to the ground with the good luck to have avoided mid-air collisions with other snowflakes.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

[Alaska Science Forum: Despite all the snow, Alaska has gardening potential]

— A typical snowpack is at least 50% air, but people can still suffocate when consumed by an avalanche: “Due to the victim’s own body heat and moist breath, an impermeable icy barrier is soon created near the face, which cuts off the flow of air in the snow,” Sturm wrote.

— Much of snow’s magic for play is due to “sintering.” The passage of a snowmachine, a pair of skis or a pounding by a stiff wind causes snow crystals to fracture into small, sharp particles that bond together and hold on tight. Left behind are hard-packed surfaces, all due to snow’s propensity to set up, which sand does not have. “Sintering ‘glues’ the grains together,” Sturm wrote.

A snow drift that shows the effect of sintering after winds bashed around the crystals. (Courtesy Photo / Matthew Sturm)

A snow drift that shows the effect of sintering after winds bashed around the crystals. (Courtesy Photo / Matthew Sturm)

— When a cold snap hits, frigid temperatures will not reach the bottom of the snowpack for a week. This is because so much air is present — up to 90 percent for fluffy new snow. “It makes a fine insulating blanket, nearly as good as a down parka,” Sturm wrote.

— More than 1 billion people rely on the water from snow they never see. “Even in the largely snow-free areas of California like Los Angeles and San Francisco, people drink snowmelt water and get power from electrical turbines turned by snow water,” Sturm wrote.

— On one remarkable day in Alaska, enough snow fell in one high valley to bury an NBA center to his eyeballs. The story follows:

On Feb. 7, 1963, weather observer Ralph Lane recorded 78 inches of snow — that’s 6.5 feet! — at Mile 47 of the Richardson Highway.

Mile 47 is just northeast of Thompson Pass in the Chugach Mountains, close to the confluence of Stuart Creek and the Tiekel River. In 1963, Lane was foreman of the Alaska Department of Highway’s Ernestine Camp, based at Mile 62 Richardson Highway.

Michael Gibson skis through deep powder in the Brooks Range. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

Michael Gibson skis through deep powder in the Brooks Range. (Courtesy Photo / Ned Rozell)

While some weather researchers dispute the data from Mile 47, Alaska climatologist Brian Brettschneider once spoke to a scientist who had met the late Ralph Lane.

Lane told the man the snowflakes that day were large as silver dollars, and he had never seen snow that deep before. Lane also said he was caught in an avalanche that day while driving his snowplow.

Scientists who researched the claim of 6.5 feet of snow in one day could not produce enough evidence to overturn Lane’s measurement, so Alaska still holds the United States record for the most snow to fall in one day.

• Since the late 1970s, the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute has provided this column free in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell ned.rozell@alaska.edu is a science writer for the Geophysical Institute.

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Feb. 15

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

The Tlingit and Haida Elders Group performs the entrance dance at the 89th annual Tribal Assembly of the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Trump rescinds Biden executive order expanding tribal sovereignty and self-governance

Order giving Natives more access to federal funds cited in awarding of major Southeast Alaska projects.

The House Finance Committee listens to public testimony about next year’s proposed budget on Friday at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
The Alaska House budget currently has a ‘full’ PFD of about $3,800. Except it really doesn’t.

Legislators on all sides agree PFD will shrink drastically before floor vote to avoid $2 billion deficit.

Dylan Court and Emily Feliciano-Soto at a rehearsal of “Necessary Nonsense,” a Theater Alaska production debuting Friday. (Photo courtesy of Theatre Alaska)
Middle schoolers bring ‘Necessary Nonsense’ to life in Theater Alaska Kids Company’s debut play

Imagine a world where “Alice in Wonderland” characters mingle with limerick legends… Continue reading

Jonathan Estes, a parent of three students attending the Dzantik’i Heeni campus, testifies for a safe playground at a special Juneau Board of Education meeting on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Juneau School District submits budget for next school year to Juneau Assembly

The plan assumes $400 BSA hike and no staff vacancies; board also advocates for DH playground.

A totem pole and visitor guide sign on the downtown Juneau cruise ship dock on Thursday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
‘Anecdotal’ signs Juneau’s tourism season may see a dropoff due to Trump’s policies, officials say

Tariffs, talk of recession causing uncertainty and ill will resulting in reports of cancellations.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Wednesday, March 12, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Gabriel von Eisenstein (David Cangelosi) is pulled in two separate directions by his wife Rosalinda (Sara Radke Brown, right) and Rosalinda’s maid, Adele (Kayla Kohlhase, left) during a dress rehearsal of “Die Fledermaus” on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Juneau Lyric Opera celebrates a chorus of community for 50th anniversary

German operetta “Die Fledermaus” that launched JLO gets revival with old and new voices Friday night.

Most Read