Labor Day Weekend Snow Blankets Northern Alaska, Wyoming

By Jon Erdman
Published: September 1,2014
 



Snow fell on the Labor Day weekend in parts of northern Alaska and Wyoming, providing a gentle reminder that summer is on its last legs.
Snow levels lowered to 9,000 feet in northwest Wyoming.
A dusting of snow was captured on Wyoming DOT cams Sunday morning northwest of Dubois, Wyoming along U.S. 26 and 287 at an elevation of 9,500 feet and coated the top of Grand Targhee Resort Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service office in Riverton, Wyoming.
Meanwhile, snow fell over remote parts of northern Alaska last Friday, and was expected to become heavy over the Brooks Range into Tuesday.
This prompted the National Weather Service in Fairbanks to issue the first winter storm warning anywhere in the U.S. since mid-June. Up to 8 inches of wind-driven snow is possible over this remote part of the "Last Frontier," according to NWS-Fairbanks.
(MORE: Latest Alaska NWS Alerts)
Snow levels were expected to drop to around 2,000 feet in the mountains around Fairbanks.
While not record-smashing cold, below-average temperatures chilled parts of Alaska's interior this weekend, and will set in for the next several days behind a potent Arctic cold front.
Beaver, Alaska, dipped to 19 degrees Sunday morning, while Fairbanks saw its first frost of the season, dipping to 33 degrees Saturday and 34 degrees Sunday morning.
While this sounds chilly to those in the Lower 48 States clinging to summer after a brutal winter 2013-2014, the average low in Fairbanks at the end of August is 41 degrees. The season's first measurable snow falls in Fairbanks around Oct. 1, in an average year. In 2013, that feat occurred on Sept. 18.
Fairbanks just set their wettest summer on record this past July through August.