There has been a record amount of snow in much of Alaska lately, but not the kind of record you would expect.

Many locations in Alaska have set records for least amount of snowfall in December and January. In addition to being exceptionally dry, temperatures have also been significantly warmer than average across the state.

(MORE: )

What's responsible for the below-average snowfall amounts? The overall pattern for December and January featured an upper-level area oflow pressure south of Alaska, near the Gulf of Alaska. This pattern tends not to bring the storm track oflow-pressure systems into Alaska, but diverts them farther south. The result is less precipitation for the state.

(MORE: )

This pattern is typical of what happens during an El Niño winter. In Alaska, temperatures and can also limit the amount of snowfall in some locations.

Below we take a look at the snowfall stats and some of the records that have been broken in a few cities.

How Much Snow Has Fallen?

set a record for the least amount of snowfall from Dec. 1-Jan. 31 since records began in 1915. During this time only 1.9 inches of snow fell in Fairbanks, which is more than 20 inches below the amount snowfall expected during this period. Only 0.8 inches was measured in January, which makes it the second lowest amount of snowfall in January on record.

In addition to the lack of snowfall, only 0.01 inches of precipitation fell in January in Fairbanks, which ties with 1966 for driest January. It was also the driest December-January on record. However, the season-to-date snowfall (which runs from July 1 through June 30) is 3.8 inches above average as of Jan. 31. January was also warmer than average and the lowest temperature recorded during the month was 20 degrees below zero which is the third warmest low temperature on record for January.

has also seen below-average snowfall since Dec. 1. In December and January only 16.5 inches was recorded, 10.7 inches below average. January also saw an average temperature of 20.2 degrees, 14.9 degrees above average. The average temperature is calculated using the mean between the high and low temperature.

broke its record for the least amount of snowfall in January with only 1.3 inches. Only 14 inches of snow has been measured here since Dec. 1, which is far below the 35.9 inches that would normally be expected from Dec. 1-Jan. 31. Temperatures have been warmer than average as well. The highest temperature recorded this December was 47 degrees, the second warmest temperature recorded in December.

had only6.1 inches of snow from Dec. 1-Jan. 31, more than 20 inches below average. Season-to-date through Jan. 31 the snowfall deficit is 23.6 inches. January was also mild with an average temperature of 27 degrees. This is almost 10 degrees above average for January.

Incidentally, this follows the least snowy season on record in 2014-2015 in Alaska's largest city, when only 25.1 inches of snow fell the entire season. This was only about one-third of the average seasonal snowfall of 74.6 inches.

Lack of Snow in Alaska

The graphic above highlights a few cities in Alaska that have not seen much snow since December 1.

experienced the least snowiest January on record as only a trace of snow fell. The previous least snowiest January was 1981 when 2.4 inches was recorded. Since July 1 only 32.9 inches has been measured here, 24.3 inches below the expected amount of snowfall for the period.

has seen 7.8 inches of snow since Dec. 1, which is actually 1.7 inches above average. However, the city was a little more than 5 inches below average for the season with 21 inches being recorded through Jan. 31. Temperatures have also been above-average here. The average temperature in January was 0.3 degrees below zero, a little more than 13 degrees warmer than average.

Snow Depth as of January 31, 2016 in Alaska

Snow depth as of January 31, 2016 in Alaska

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Alaska Glaciers (PHOTOS)