Weak flow keeps light snowfall in weekend forecast

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - For the third consecutive day, light snow continues to fall across Southcentral Alaska. Just within the last two days, Anchorage has seen more than half of all the snow that fell from the middle of December until the end of last month.

The snow drought we were in for a large portion of that period looks to come to an end, as weak flow will keep daily snow showers around. While most of the snow will be isolated and scattered in nature, we’ll see some widespread activity through Prince William Sound into the Copper River Basin. Both locations could see several inches of snow by Sunday morning. The rest of Southcentral will likely only see an additional 1 to 3 inches by Sunday morning.

While temperatures will continually remain on the warmer side, afternoon highs will only be a few degrees above average. It’s overnight where the real warmth takes place, as overcast skies are keeping our lows roughly 10 to 15 degrees above average. This trend will continue through the next week, with daily lows falling into the 20s. A few isolated areas could see temperatures dip into the teens, but most locations will continue to remain above average.

Southeast Alaska will catch somewhat of a break over the next 48 hours, as only isolated to scattered activity will be prevalent. That all changes as an area of low pressure moves into the Gulf of Alaska by Sunday. As the low approaches Prince William Sound, we’ll begin to see an uptick in snow across Southcentral. Southeast will get in on the action as well, although the warm nature of the system will leave much of Southeast seeing rain or a wintry mix. Typical areas through Taiya Inlet and near Hyder will see the potential for accumulating snow.

Across the rest of the state, windy conditions will lead to bitterly cold wind chills along the North Slope. Meanwhile, further west across the Bering Strait Coast and Gambell and St. Lawrence, a blizzard warning will be in effect tonight into Saturday afternoon for light snow, areas of significantly reduced visibility and winds up to 50 mph.

Have a safe and happy weekend!

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