Maine native finds Alaskan winter mild

PORTLAND – A former Augusta resident has some advice for Mainers who are sick of snow: move to Alaska.

Dan Michaud, who moved to Alaska six years ago, said he’s had warmer temperatures and less snow this winter than he did in Maine.

“I would say this year, you guys are worse off than us. You’d be better off in Alaska,” he said.

The Portland area has had 51.4 inches of snow so far this season, including about 14 inches from Monday’s storm.

For a state known for crushing cold and staggering snowfalls, Alaska’s last few winters have been relatively tame, Michaud said during a telephone interview with the Lewiston Sun Journal.

“It’s seldom gone below zero this winter, and we usually get 20- to 40- below temperatures. And, so far, I’ve only had to plow out the yard twice,” he said.

Michaud, 46, and his wife, Susan, run a stove shop in Meadow Lakes, a small town about 50 miles north of Anchorage.

In a normal winter, there easily could be 5 feet of accumulated snow outside and his plow truck would have worked the driveway more than a dozen times, he said.

One major difference between Alaskan and Maine winters is the kind of snow that falls, Michaud said. While heavy, wet snow typically falls in much of Maine, Michaud said the dry air around Meadow Lakes produces light, fluffy snow.