Snow-dependent businesses in Anchorage are struggling as an unusually dry winter with record low snowfall forces snow removal and outdoor gear companies to scale back operations.

“It’s out of the ordinary but nothing that’s unprecedented,” according to Arctic Valley Ski Area general manager John Robinson-Wilson.

Just under 2 inches of new snow fell the entire month, making it one of the least snowy on record. Last season was the second snowiest on record. The winter of 2011-12 set the record for the city’s snowiest. A few winters later, Kutz said, “we dropped down to minimum snow.”

Unusually warm weather in early December 2024 has led to rain in Anchorage, Alaska, marking the most December rainfall since 2018, driven by a warm air surge from the eastern Pacific.

Officials in Anchorage suggest residents consider shoveling their roofs due to record snowfall and the potential for more, along with concerns about ice dams and roof stress.

Climatologist Rick Thoman says climate change is driving this more extreme winter snowfall. As the oceans warm, more moisture evaporates into the air. Then, when the atmospheric conditions are right for a storm, that increased evaporation results in “heavier and heavier precipitation,” Thoman said. That’s in part why Anchorage saw 41.2 inches of snow last month, capping off its wettest year on record, according to the National Weather Service.

For many in Anchorage, winter and its accompanying outdoor opportunities are something to relish rather than escape. But residents of the state’s largest city are being forced to renegotiate their relationship with winters.

The snowfall came after Anchorage broke the daily record for warmest Dec. 31, with temperatures at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport measuring 46 degrees.

What little snow has fallen in recent weeks has disappeared, leaving inviting surfaces and smooth terrain to explore.

By better aligning the tire season with average snowfall, the city hopes to limit road deterioration.

The storm that walloped Southcentral Alaska also left about 32 inches of snow in Moose Pass and 30 in Seward.

Though snow is scant in Anchorage, organizers are confident they will be able to host the Jan. 3-8 race series.