This is the second reported roof collapse in Anchorage in two days.

The weekend was marked by cold sunny days and stunning aurora displays at night, but then the weather took another turn. By Tuesday morning, an east wind was howling and blowing snow sideways. The week started looking like a repeat of the last.

The reason for the uptick in human-triggered avalanches this winter: persistent weak layers in the snowpack.

A major winter storm is continuing to bring heavy snow, blizzard conditions and significant ice from California to the Northeast on Thursday.

Rural areas here have begun facing water scarcity much before the onset of summer. Villagers are going long distances by bullock carts to collect water in plastic drums. Day temperature is already high.

"Just when I get into the machine, I just manage to sit in the seat and then the body of the excavator fills with slush and presses me against the window and then presses the whole machine off the road into the valley."

Just this month, more than 23 inches of snow have fallen in Anchorage, 17.5 inches above normal. A weekend storm clogged Anchorage streets, creating hazardous road conditions. The Anchorage School District closed school buildings and canceled after-school activities, calling a remote learning day.

The storm ravaged much of the coast. In several parts of the country, the forces of nature have done damage and loose objects have flown through in the air.

Kirkenes had a record warm moon and Kongsberg has had more than twice as much accumulation as they usually do in January.

The upper mountain at Eaglecrest Ski Area in Juneau was closed on Friday following a large avalanche Thursday morning. No one was hurt.

Avalanches hit houses after rain in western Norway in numerous locations.

A landslide has closed busy highway 80 between Fauske and Bodø. The Nordland Line has also been affected. The weather has been very bad with large amounts of rainfall in Nordland today. There have been snow and slush avalanches in several places in the county, and a number of road and train sections have been closed due to avalanches.

Southern Yukon is basking in some unusually mild January weather this week, with temperatures climbing well above the freezing point on Wednesday and expected to stay that way into Thursday.

Temperatures in China's northernmost city plunged to minus 53°C (minus 63.4 degrees Fahrenheit) -- its coldest ever recorded.

Light rain is expected to fall across much of the region Tuesday, with a storm possibly bringing more rain to Anchorage on Wednesday.

Denali receives a foot of snow in mid-winter storm. Interior areas, including Fairbanks, also received high amounts of snow.

Twenty people were rescued from a chairlift at the Hlíðarfjall ski area outside Akureyri. The lift stalled when the wire was blown off its spool by a strong blast of wind.

Alaska Railroad freight train derailed early Tuesday after plowing into avalanche debris south of Girdwood. The debris spread roughly 300 feet across the tracks.

The last time the water levels were this high in some places was in the late 1990s or early 2000s. According to the Finnish Environment Institute (Syke), floodwaters will likely spill onto fields and roads in parts of southern and western Finland, but not into buildings.

Last winter there was record low snow. But now there are reports of snow records and amazing skiing conditions on the mountain.