‘Thank You’ From Climate Specialist After Storm Data Nearly Lost

The Nome Airport’s weather equipment failed for five days in early March, right before a record-setting winter storm.

Rick Thoman, from the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy, has more:

“Now, that’s the bad news. The good news is, KNOM Radio, in their role as National Weather Service co-operative observers, recorded 14 inches of new snow, from almost an inch of precipitation. That’s enough to rank as the greatest two-day precipitation in March in Nome’s 114-year climate records, and the third largest two-day snowfall.

It will require work to make sure the great storm of 2021 doesn’t get lost, but KNOM has made sure there is a paper trail for history to work with.”

– Rich Thoman, Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy

Image at top: KNOM’s Davis Hovey and NWS’s Chris Clarke install a temperature sensor on KNOM property. Photo from Ric Schmidt, fall 2020.

2 Comments

  1. Sue Steinacher on March 31, 2021 at 11:49 pm

    That Rick Thoman is a sweetheart! And you at KNOM are rock stars! (Or maybe Snow Angels?)



    • KJ McElwee on April 1, 2021 at 12:56 pm

      Ahh, thank you Sue. Agreed, Rick Thoman has been a big help to us over the years – much like yourself! Thank you!!

      -KJ