A September 20 headline at Alaska’s News Source (ANS) announced the chilling arrival of fall, “Signs of the changing seasons are showing up all over Alaska.”
Along with pictures of snowy mountains and fall foliage, Melissa Frey, ANS chief meteorologist, posted on Facebook, “Dropping snow levels and changing colors, Oh My! Eye spy with my little eye…signs of the changing seasons all around us. AK DOT & PF announced today that the road over Hatcher Pass is now closed for the winter, following the first snow of the season.”
A second ANS story covering the ongoing storm pattern blamed it on an atmospheric river and a stationary ridge of high pressure which delivered freezing temperatures, frost, and snow to southcentral Alaska.
“Anchorage and much of Southcentral Alaska woke up this morning to the coldest it’s been since early May,” reported ANS. “Many areas dropped at or below freezing, with frost widespread across the region.”