First snow of season blankets Anchorage, Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — If Anchorage’s first snowfall Saturday seems a little early, that’s because it was.

The average first snowfall in Anchorage isn’t until Oct. 17, according to the National Weather Service. The earliest recorded snowfall in the city came Sept. 20, 1947.

The mixed rain and snow overnight turned fully to snow during the early morning hours Saturday, catching some off guard as it changed the look of the landscape.

“We saw it as we were going to bed last night, but I was surprised about how much had accumulated overnight,” said Trevor Bird, a ski hill employee who lives on the Lower Hillside. “It’s nice to get the early snow, but this is like, ‘Oh great, it’s coming.’”

Officially, Upper DeArmoun Road saw the most snow Saturday, with 7 inches measured, the weather service said. The accumulation amounts decreased farther down the Hillside, with less than a quarter-inch at the weather service’s office on Sand Lake Road, not far from the cross-country ski trails at Kincaid Park.

Winter-lovers rejoiced, including at least one man seen heading for the Chugach Mountains with his “rock” skis. Facebook and Twitter lit up with pictures of snow-covered decks, newly built snowmen and white mountains, bright under sunny skies.

Others lamented the snow as an unwelcome sign of the cold, darkness and slippery roads to come. The history-making snowfall of last winter — 133.6 inches, breaking a record set in 1955 — was still fresh in many minds. It had apparently been enough to send some people south, for good.