FNF: The Sun Fights with the Snow (Safety Bit)

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Ladies and Gentlemen, we begin the most audacious fight of the season.  The Sun, our most prestigious resource on the planet, has officially declared a fight with the Snow.  This will more sound like a PSA or a Safety Bit.


This year, Fairbanks had received a record of snowfall that the city / region has not seen since 1992.  In that winter, it was ~139 inches.  This year it was ~92 inches.  The average between 1991-2020 was ~65 inches.

Fairbanks snowfall statistics | Sonot Kkaazoot


This brings up a couple of topics (fights) that are worth mentioning.  The first fight to bring up is the fight between the Snow Load and the rating of your roof.   With all this excessive amount of snow, it is best to check your roof. 

Any home built after '96 has ~50 pounds per square inch of load tolerance, with a decrease in tolerance as the older the building is, with something ~30 pounds per square inch for buildings built in the 60's. 


If you're in the Fairbanks area, a link to the City of Fairbanks Building site is below.  If you aren't in Fairbanks, but live in an area that gets snow - Colorado, Montana, Wisconsin, the Dakotas, etc - go clean off your roof.  Check your roof's load.

03/03/22 Snow Load Update | Fairbanks Alaska

Interior Alaska residents cautioned to monitor roofs in wake of powerful storm (ktoo.org)

When should I worry about snow accumulation on the roof? – Cold Climate Housing Research Center (cchrc.org)


Another point of Sun vs. Snow is if you have a metal roof.  If you didn't fail basic science class or haven't been living under a rock, you know that metal warms up from sunlight.  It only takes a little bit of sunlight to change the degree by one or two, just enough to cause separation and cause the snow to slide off the roof to the ground.....  where one might be standing while their dogs are doing their business.  In the case of the story below, where a little girl was standing in 2017 when she got buried.

Girl buried, injured by snow sliding off roof in Alaska (yahoo.com)


The second bout between Sun and Snow is the effect of creating water on top of ice.  Just like the metal roof, the Sun only needs to apply very little heat to the top layer of the ice to make it melt.  From my many experiences in Alaska, it only takes ~1mm of water on top of ice to be dangerous for slips and falls.

As the Sun begins to win the fight against the snow, slip and fall hazards become more and more likely.  As a risk mitigation, the best advice out there is to walk like a penguin.

A Complete Guide to Slip and Falls on Ice or Snow (palegaladvice.com)

TOOLBOX TALK: ICY CONDITIONS – SLIPS, TRIPS, AND FALLS – Weifieldweekly.com



In conclusion, it is that time of year in Fairbanks when the Sun begins to fight, and win, against the Snow of the previous winter.  Be safe out there, walk carefully, and live so you can go fishing here once all the ice of the rivers and lakes melt away.


There will definitely be a Part Two to this once the lakes and rivers are more accessible.


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