The following image was taken during my house hunting trip to Talkeetna across the first full week of April, 2013.  The actual date of the image is April 10, 2013 which corresponds to the day I made an offer on this property.  Notice in particular the snow cover:

At that time there was approximately 34″ of snow pack which had increased to 38″ after a snow event the next evening.  I was informed by my realtor and good friend, Holly, that these conditions were pretty typical for early to mid-April in Talkeetna.

Here’s a picture I just snapped maybe fifteen minutes ago.  It is just three years and three days from the date of the previous image.  Without question the difference in the snow pack is both startling and revealing.  Since the winter of 2012-2013, which set records for snow fall across much of Alaska, Talkeetna has seen three consecutive warm and dry ‘winters’ all of which have set records in terms of warmth.