Alfredo Godoy shovels his front steps in Spenard on Jan. 27, 2026.
© Alaska Public MediaAlfredo Godoy shovels his front steps in Spenard on Jan. 27, 2026.
Anchorage broke its January snowfall record Tuesday as another winter storm dumped more than 10 inches of snow on the city, prompting early school dismissals and snarling traffic.

As of 3 p.m., the National Weather Service office in West Anchorage had recorded 10.6 inches of new snow, bringing the month's total to 39.7 inches — the most ever recorded for January, eclipsing a record set in 2000.

What's even more remarkable is the nearly 3 inches of liquid held in that snow, along with some rain that fell during the month, according to National Weather Service climate researcher Brian Brettschneider.

"The amount of precipitation we've already received in January is what we typically get from January 1st through about May 10th," he said. "And there's been almost 10 years where we didn't even have this much precipitation all the way through the end of June."

Forecasters cautioned that driving could be very difficult, especially during the evening commute.


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