Light snow today with heavier snow returning Wednesday night

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Another light band of snow has begun falling across Southcentral Alaska, but thankfully it will only bring meager accumulations. Many areas will likely only see a few inches of snow, meaning the light snow today will be more of an annoyance than anything. Should we see a couple more inches of snow than expected, it will most likely occur across parts of the Mat-Su and Prince William Sound.

While the snow will be short-lived today across the region, the push of warmer air that’s also building into the region will build up over the coming days.

Limited sun will occur today across Southcentral, with many locations warming into the 20s. The only exception will be for immediate coastal areas, where highs will warm into the 30s, and through the Copper River Basin. Enjoy the dry breaks we’ll see today, as the activity ramps up once again into Wednesday and Thursday.

Ahead of what looks to be our final winter storm for the rest of the week, winter storm watches have been issued. Anchorage, the Valley and the Western Kenai Peninsula remain under a winter storm watch from Wednesday to Thursday. While snow totals vary greatly during any event, a large portion of the region will likely see 6 to 14 inches of snow.

Should this occur and Anchorage sees another foot of snow, it will make it the snowiest December this region has seen since the 1950s. With the additional warmth that is moving into Southcentral as well, we could briefly see our snow totals eaten into. This comes as warmer air will lead to a changeover to a wintry mix Wednesday night into Thursday. While the better opportunity for it exists along the Kenai Peninsula and through Prince William Sound, enough warm air will arrive with this system that the warm nose could make its way into the Valley. While this would only briefly eat into our snow totals, many areas can still expect to see multiple inches of snow.

Go ahead and prepare for difficult travel, as many areas across Southcentral either are still trying to dig out or running out of places to store the snow. As the snow comes to an end through the morning hours Thursday, we will begin to see colder air spill back into the region. It’ll be slow at first, but by week’s end, temperatures will fall into the teens for highs, with overnight lows in the single digits.

The same system set to impact Southcentral will also lead to warmer conditions and rain showers for Southeast Alaska. While today will bring the possibility for a few inches of snow, temperatures through Thursday will warm near 40 leading to a changeover to rain for most locations. Much like Southcentral, Southeast will dry out and cool down as the weekend arrives.

Stay safe and use caution on the roads.

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