State officials extend studded-tire removal deadline by 15 days [Video]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The state of Alaska extended its annual deadline for residents to swap out their studded winter tires by 15 days due to what they called “prolonged winter weather.”

Most of Southcentral Alaska has seen near record-setting snowfall this winter: Anchorage tied the mark for second-snowiest winter all-time for the city on Friday after reaching 132.6 inches of snow, much more than the Anchorage seasonal average of around 75 inches of snow.

Monday’s emergency order, issued by Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell, extended the deadline for all Alaskans living above the 60th parallel from May 1 to May 15.

The line that marks 60 degrees longitude stretches across the southern portion of the state, from south of Bethel to the southern Kenai Peninsula and north of the Southeast Panhandle.

That means that the emergency studded tire orderaffects the majority of Alaskans, since places like Anchorage, Palmer, Wasilla, Fairbanks, …