Signs that winter is almost over in Alaska

It's that time of the year! Winter is almost over! We are so ready to have some nice weather so we can enjoy some summer activities. Here are some signs that winter is almost over:

1. It starts snowing again. True story! Once the weather starts getting a little warmer it starts snowing. When it’s super cold and the middle of winter it rarely snows because of how cold it is. 

2. Winter clothes will start going on sale and grills and AC units will start popping up in store. It may not feel like winter yet because it’s still below freezing but now is the time to buy your winter gear for next year and your air conditioner for this summer.

3. You’ll start to see snow removal vehicles all over the place. Large dump trucks and plows and such show up and start removing snow from the roads, sidewalks, and end of driveways. They haul it away to a designated area, which is oftentimes an empty lot. It’s better that it melts and becomes a swamp there than the middle of the roads. 

4. Time for hard pack removal! Once all that snow is removed from the roads a second set of vehicles will comes through and start scrapping up the hard pack off the roads. Hard pack is all the snow and ice that has accumulated over the winter and hasn’t been removed. People end up driving over it continuously and it gets packed down and takes a lot to remove. This year we had so much hard pack in our driveway that we gave up half way through and paid a guy to remove the rest with his bobcat. 

5. Everyone will change their boots. In the winter you will see people in an assortment of different winter boots. Most wear actual, rated to negative temps, winter boots. I, however, usually just wear a pair of cute bear paws. If it’s so cold that I need boots rated for cold temps then I have no plans to be outside for that long. But once winter is over people will change into RAIN BOOTS! With all that snow melting there are puddles everywhere. Plan on walking through a mini pond just to get to the store from the car. Plus, with warmer temps come rain.

6. People will start wearing shorts and t-shirts. Even though it’s still 30-40 degrees people here are slowing pulling out the summer clothes. I’ve had a lot of friends ask why because it’s still cold but after 7 months this is really a heat wave! It’s a good 50 degrees warmer than we’ve been dealing with.

7. Car washes start having sales. A lot of people, including us, opt to not wash our cars in the middle of winter. It’s too cold and honestly many of the car washes close during the winter anyways. So, once you see those sales it is time to give your vehicle a really good bath.

8. The sun seriously comes out of nowhere! As most people know Alaska loses sunlight during the winter and then gains it during the summer. But during those times between winter and summer there are a lot of overcast and rainy days. Once the sun shows up it’s just like “holy crap where did that come from?” Currently today (April 14th) the sun is rising at 6:18 and it sets at 21:25. I swear just a couple weeks ago we were only getting 6 hours of light a day, now I find myself squinting when I first step outside.