Iditarod forced to move again due to lack of Alaska snow
Alaska's famous dog sled race was forced from Anchorage to Fairbanks for the 2025 event, due to move due to lack of snow and warm temperatures.
These photos show various Iditarod dog teams along the 1,000-mile race trail in Anchorage, Alaska, this year.
Alaska's famous Iditarod sled dog race's starting point has been moved northward to Fairbanks for the 2025 event. The 1,000-mile trek goes westward across the state to Nome.
The move came after mushers expressed concern about the Nikolai area, 200 miles northwest of Anchorage. No snow has fallen there since late January. Dogs can become injured by stepping in mud or holes on the trails if there is no permafrost.
In this March 3, 2018, file photo, Eagle River, Alaska musher Tom Schonberger's lead dogs trot along Fourth Avenue during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo)
This is the fourth time the start of the Iditarod has been moved to Fairbanks, most recently in 2017. In 2008, the starting point was permanently moved from Anchorage to Willow, 40 miles north, after warm conditions and a lack of snow made the trek difficult.
It has been an extremely mild winter in Alaska. In mid-January, temperatures in the state were more like the northeastern U.S., and after a Gulf Coast snowstorm, parts of Florida had Anchorage beat for snow accumulation this winter.
Every climate station in Alaska has seen a winter season in the top eight warmest, according to the SERCC (Southeast Regional Climate Center). Nome, Deadhorse and Cold Bay have experienced their second-warmest winter on record. Homer and St. Paul Island are at number one.
Average temperature ranking for weather stations in Alaska for December 1, 2024 to February 17, 2025. (SERCC)
At an average temperature of 14.7 degrees Fahrenheit, the state ranked the second warmest January to December period in the 100-year record, NOAA says, which is not quite as warm as 2000-2001 with an average of 15.1 F. Nearly 500 daily record high temperatures were set or tied in Alaska in January.
The Midwest Regional Climate Center (MRCC)'s winter severity index, which is based on temperature and snowfall, places Bettles in the mildest category so far this season.
As of Feb. 17, Anchorage was 26 inches behind the historical average in snowfall. It had only had 4.3 inches of snow since Dec. 1, and the ground was almost bare.
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