October Snows Blanket Whitehorse; Record Halloween Snow For Anchorage; Europe Set For Severe Winter As Siberian Snowfall Builds; + Simply, Wrong

"I’ve never seen this much snow at the end of October."

October Snows Blanket Whitehorse

Whitehorse awoke Wednesday to a fresh blanket of snow—the second dumping in a matter of days—marking an early start to winter.

Jan Polivka, operations manager at Whitehorse Nordic Centre, said: "I’ve never seen this much snow at the end of October. We’ve had decent early snow before, but nothing like this."

While October snow isn’t exactly rare in Yukon, the recent accumulations have been especially intense. Environment Canada meteorologist Ken Dosanjh confirmed: "Whitehorse received 15 cm, and Carmacks up to 20. It’s a notable event, especially before November." Local Chris Irving recalls trick-or-treating as a kid in knee-deep snow: "It hasn’t been like that in years, so this is pretty wild."

In response, Whitehorse mobilized “all available resources” for plowing and sanding, and despite challenging conditions, authorities reported only minor transit delays.

For Whitehorse, winter’s early arrival is here to stay—and the city appears ready.

Record Halloween Snow For Anchorage

Alaska has capped off a snowy October with yet another heavy dumping.

Anchorage just experienced its snowiest Halloween on record, with totals reaching 8.9 inches by 10PM Thursday—with it still coming down.

This comfortably bests the old record from 1983 of 6 inches.