Alaskan snowfall patterns are the most dramatic the region has seen in at least 1,000 years.

Chelsea Harvey, on December 20, 2017, writes in Scientific American about a study that has found that snowfall in Alaska has increased over the past 150 years due to climate change. Chelsea notes that the study found summer snowfall rose 49% since the mid-19th century, and winter snowfall has increased by a whopping 117 percent. 

It may sound counterintuitive — after all, Alaska is experiencing the fastest rate of warming in the country, and the central part of the state has already seen its temperatures climb by 2 to 3 degrees over the last 50 years. But warmer air can hold more moisture, the researchers say, allowing for greater amounts of precipitation, including snow.

Scientists say it's not just the local warming that's played a role. The study suggests that rising temperatures in the western Pacific and Indian oceans might be an even bigger factor, helping to strengthen a low-pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska that drives warm, moist air — perfect conditions for snowstorms — north across the state. It's another reminder that the effects of climate change in one location can sometimes produce rippling effects around the world.

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"When there's warmer temperatures in the tropical ocean, that leads to enhanced convection — basically, air rising up into the upper atmosphere — and that creates a sort of anomaly that propagates through the atmosphere," Winski said. In south-central Alaska, the result is an increase in storms.

The scientists say that precipitation is being affected in other areas than just Alaska. Even as the warming oceans are bringing more snow to Denali, other research has suggested that they may also be causing a decrease in Hawaiian rainfall at the same time. In Alaska, the new study provides some of the starkest evidence yet of the region's continuous response to human-caused climate change, corresponding with 150 years of greenhouse gas emissions.

It’s important to note that Alaska’s glaciers are not getting a reprieve. They are still melting and retreating at an alarming rate. 

h/t GreenPeace Canada for title