The Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race (K300) has announced that it will start at 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7. That’s seven hours earlier than its previously-scheduled start time of 8 p.m.
In a post on social media, the race said the move was due to an impending warm weather forecast for Feb. 9. According to the National Weather Service, temperatures in the Kuskokwim Delta could jump almost 10 degrees Fahrenheit from the night of Saturday, Feb. 8 to Sunday, Feb. 9, with rain in the forecast.
The K300 fireworks will still happen in the evening. Race Manager Paul Basile said that the show is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 7).
Warm, wet winter weather has already had a significant impact on mushing throughout the state this year. Mushers report being unable to train without traveling hundreds of miles due to low snowpack and wet conditions. In January, warm winter weather, low snowpack, and unsafe ice prompted the K300 Race Committee to postpone the race from its originally-scheduled start date in late January.
This is a developing story and may be updated with additional information.
