Passing snow showers linger into the weekend for Southcentral

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Anywhere from a dusting to 3 inches of snow has fallen across Southcentral Alaska since the snow began Wednesday morning. While we’ve seen some dry time here and there, most of the snow has been fairly light and falling for several hours.

Snow-covered roads will await many as they hit the roads, but the good news is the snow should provide more traction than slick conditions. That will change through the day and into the weekend, as consistent traffic and additional snow could lead to compact ice. Just a reminder to take it slow and that the posted speed limits are for your ideal driving conditions. It’s a good reminder that any time snow is covering the road or slick spots are evident, you should reduce your speed.

While snow is set to lighten up and taper off into the afternoon hours, the nature of the atmosphere will keep weak upper-level disturbances sweeping through Southcentral. As a result of this, on and off light snow showers are possible into the weekend. While this is to be expected, snowfall accumulations will be greatly limited, with an additional 1 to 2 inches of snow looking possible by Saturday. Locally, heavier amounts will fall through Prince William Sound and the Chugach Range, where over 5 inches of snow can be expected.

While Southcentral sees mild conditions with snow showers over the next several days, Southeast Alaska is gearing up for the wet, warm and active weather to remain. While the core of the jet stream remains to our south, there is enough curvature in the jet stream for storms to move into the Southern Inner Channels. As a result of this and the upcoming weather pattern, daily highs will stay in the 30s and 40s across the Panhandle, with rain and snow to be expected. Areas that are usually harder hit by snow will likely start off with some light snow showers and then gradually transition to a wintry mix. One such location is Hyder, which remains under a winter weather advisory into the evening for up to up to half a foot of snow.

While the Bering Sea continues to see numerous lows move through the region, minimal impacts are being felt through much of the Aleutians. However, in the days ahead, isolated to scattered areas of wintry mix will continue, with surface lows moving into Southwest Alaska keeping warm and snowy conditions around as the weekend approaches.

While it has been warm to start the year, there are signs that colder weather will return by the end of next week.

Have a safe and happy Thursday!

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