The longest October dry spell on record for Haines was followed Sunday by one of the month’s largest, one-day dumps of snow.
By the time it stopped falling Monday afternoon, 12 inches had piled up at Paul Swift’s weather station on Union Street.
“It really came down hard and heavy,” said Rick Fritsch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Juneau. Fritsch said the dump was second only to 12.8 inches that fell here on Oct. 29, 2008, for daily snowfall records in October.
The snow stuck to green leaves on local bushes and on summer banners still hanging from downtown light poles.
On their way to a new job in Juneau, Oregonians Bill and Jenny Miller made it down the Haines Highway in the midst of the Sunday night. But the storm that started about 50 miles out of Haines Junction, Y.T. slowed their progress. They slept by the roadside, albeit inside their 38-foot Magnum Edition Serengeti Safari Motor Coach.
“It does all right in the snow,” Bill said Monday morning, as he and Jenny sipped coffee at Mountain Market. It was only their third day in Alaska and they said they didn’t know what to expect. They were looking for a clear spot to park their big rig for the day while they waited for the ferry.
On Main Street, Bob Gibson was sweeping snow off his minivan. A recent transplant from Skagway, Gibson said he was hoping to open his barbecue restaurant this week, but he said the weather might prove a setback. “I guess this is ‘Welcome to Haines,’” he said.