It was to the toe of the Valdez Glacier in southern Alaska that prospectors flocked in the late 1890s in the frenzy of the Klondike Gold Rush. Back then, the ice stretched almost all the way to ...

But on Jan. 16, 1990, 35 years ago, an Alaska town was clobbered by a series of snowstorms impressive even by local standards. Valdez, Alaska, picked up almost two feet of snow (47.5 inches) in just ...