Ice Day!

Today half of the Anchorage School District (ASD) closed schools due to intense ice. Instead of calling it a snow day the term "Ice Day" is used and that is largely descriptive of the situation outside.

Yesterday evening and overnight South Central Alaska experienced rain and warm temperatures. I checked the weather before I went to sleep the thermometer outside my window read a cozy 41˚F, a temperature I have not seen since October.

The winds increased and a giant crash we heard outside the house. My host mom, Terri, came running down stairs to check on me to make sure everything was alright. We discussed possibilities and ruled out the downspout (which always falls of during Chinook Winds), as the crash was much too big to be a metal downspout. The crash was so loud and long Terri thought it might have been an earthquake. She then told me that ice from the roof coming loose makes a loud noise like that. After investigating outside and finding no lose ice or damage we decided it might have been a tree that fell.

The rain and winds continued overnight. While wind gusts were not as treacherousness as Chinook windstorms they hovered around a constant 20mph with gusts up to 50mph.

Fast forward to this morning as my alarm went off at 6:50am and I find that all Eagle River, Chugiak, and Palmer schools are canceled due to extremely icy and unsafe driving conditions. The bus routes, with pick-ups in Chugiak and Eagle River for transport to Anchorage schools were canceled as well.

Anchorage Schools were still open, but it is interesting to note that many teachers for the city of Anchorage live in Eagle River, Chugiak, and Palmer. The ASD closure announcement read " Staff should proceed cautiously where schools and offices are open...We recognize that some staff members live in different parts of town from where they work. They are encouraged to make a work decision based on what is best for their safety and to touch base with their school regarding their decision."

As I was eating breakfast and checking my Facebook the trending topic that plagued my news feed was reports from fellow Alaskans of the icy road conditions. One such report told of 100 cars in the ditch on Eagle River Loop Road. That's right folks no exaggeration 100 vehicles in a mile and a half stretch.

Reminder to slow down

After going through my normal morning routine I strapped on ice cleats and headed out the door. I was glad to have my ice cleats as within three steps of my exit an area of tick ice from downspout water run-off had formed.

I made my accent up the hill to my car only to find it covered in a thin sheet of ice. I went to open my car door but had no such luck as the rain water had gotten in-between the door, seal, and car body resulting in my car doors froze shut. I eventually gained entry through the passenger door and had to use full body force from the inside to open the driver door.

The sign does not lie

After seven minutes of scraping ice I decided that was good enough for my less than one mile commute to church. I began my decent down Amondson Road. The hillside covered in ice making each switchback difficult to maneuver. My steering wheel cranked at each hairpin turn, but my car refusing to follow. The whole drive was like going down a steep, curvy, slip 'n slide.

I reached the Old Glenn Highway with relief as the hillside portion was over and it was relatively flat going from there. As expected the Old Glenn was also covered in ice with tire ruts from previous traffic. Good news, I made it to church in one piece.

Picture of the Old Glenn-the flat part of my commute