( CNN ) An unseasonably warm winter has left parts of Alaska 's Iditarod trail without snow , exposing grass and gravel and forcing the famous dogsled race to move 225 miles north . Opening ceremonies in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race kick off Saturday in Anchorage . When the race begins Monday , mushers will cross the starting line in Fairbanks instead of Willow , the traditional starting point . It 's the second time in the race 's 43-year history that the starting point has moved from Willow to Fairbanks because of weather-related issues , an Iditarod spokesperson said . The first time was in 2003 . While cities across the northeastern United States have seen record snowfall this winter , Alaska received less snow than usual . Anchorage collected only 20 inches of snow this season , compared with a seasonal average of 60 inches . Race organizers made the unanimous decision in February to move the race after determining that conditions were worse than last year in critical areas , and `` therefore not safe enough for the upcoming race , '' Iditarod Chief Executive Stan Hooley said in a press release . While snow has fallen east of the Alaska Range over the past couple of weeks , other parts of the trail did not get much or any of it , Hooley told CNN affiliate KTVA-TV in February . The racing course spans a 1,000-mile trail across the Arctic tundra , ending in Nome . The race usually takes 10 days to finish , although Dallas Seavey finished the race in 2014 in a record time of eight days , 13 hours , four seconds , and 19 minutes . The lack of snow could be attributed to a highly amplified jet stream that brought warm air from the Pacific to the region , said meteorologist Dave Snider with the National Weather Service in Anchorage . `` It 's the same weather pattern that brought the east coast such snowy and cold weather this season . Alaska was simply on the warmer side of this weather pattern , '' he said . Warm sea surface temperatures along the Alaska coastline are another reason for milder conditions , he added .
Alaska 's famed Iditarod race starts Saturday . a lack of snow forces the starting point to move 225 miles north . Warm air from the Pacific has affected weather conditions in Alaska .