High winds and heavy rain move into Southcentral to close out the week
A high wind warning is in effect for the Anchorage and Eagle River Hillsides into Friday
ANCHORAGE, AK (Alaska’s News Source) - Rain has steadily been streaming into Southcentral on Thursday, with Anchorage already seeing a few hundredths of an inch.
Higher amounts have fallen for coastal areas and locations of the Northern Susitna Valley, where freezing rain has been reported earlier today. We’ll keep wet and windy conditions around to close out the week.
SOUTHCENTRAL:
Numerous weather alerts are in effect for Southcentral from the coast north towards the Talkeetna Mountains. The following areas remain up under alerts:
High Wind Warning - Anchorage and Eagle River Hillside for gusts up to 75 mph.
Winter Storm Warning - Northern Susitna Valley for 7 to 15 inches of snow.
Winter Weather Advisory - Thompson Pass for 10 to 15 inches of snow.
Flood Advisory - Seward until Friday evening for small stream and localized urban flooding.
October has been a warm one across Southcentral, with the final few days of the month keeping the warmth around. With stormy weather remaining with us, the predominant precipitation type will remain rain. Highs continue to warm into the 40s, while overnight lows drop into the 30s and lower 40s.
While rain has been with us today, we’ll see even heavier activity moving in overnight and into our Friday. Several inches of rain looks to fall across coastal areas of the Kenai Peninsula and into Prince William Sound. Seward could see 3 to 5 inches of rain with this system, keeping a chance for some flooding around.
While not as heavy for inland areas, we’ll pick up around a quarter of an inch to half an inch of rain for Anchorage and lower parts of the Valley. Higher amounts will fall across the Western Kenai where over an inch will be possible, while areas further north in the Mat-Su Valley could see 1 to 2 inches.
This rain will stick around through most of the night and into Friday, so be prepared for ponding on roadways, even in areas not under a flood advisory.
High winds will also move into parts of Southcentral through the evening and into Friday. The strongest winds will remain above 1,000 feet on the Anchorage and Eagle River Hillside, where gust up to 75 mph will be possible. While not as strong the Anchorage Bowl could see winds of 30 to 50 mph, with the strongest aimed towards South Anchorage. We’ll also see winds through the Valley stay with us through at least early Friday morning, although highest winds will likely peak around 35 to 40 mph.
We’ll keep with the active into the holiday weekend, although most of the rain will stay confined to coastal areas. Inland locations should dry out, with mostly cloudy skies and highs in the 30s and 40s.
SOUTHEAST:
The sunny days are quickly coming to an end for Southeast, as our ridge moves out of the area. This will open the door for clouds and rain to build back into the Panhandle, but likely not until the second half of Saturday. We’ll still see one more day of sunshine and pleasant weather Friday, before the pattern shift returns to the region.
Once the rain sets in, be prepared for another wet stretch of weather. With the Gulf of Alaska now prime for most of the stormy activity, we could be dealing with several storms building north into the Gulf as we welcome in November.
INTERIOR:
Areas of rain and snow, with a chance we could see some localized freezing rain will move through the Interior this evening into early Friday morning. Fairbanks and areas to the southeast of Fairbanks may stay on the drier side, however as you head closer to the Alaska Range it’s a different story.
High wind warnings and winter weather advisories remain in effect for the Alaska Range and areas just north of the Alaska Range. Up to 8 inches of snow could fall along the Parks Highway, while the Richardson Highway could see up to a foot of snowfall accumulation. This snow combined with gusty winds will lead to areas of blowing snow, although the most impactful locations will be near the Alaska Range. Some of the strongest winds we’ll see to close out this week will be through the range, where gusts up to 85 mph will be possible.
This strong southerly flow will help keep things fairly mild in the Interior, as highs stay in the 30s and 40s, while overnight lows drop into the 20s and 30s.
NORTH SLOPE/WESTERN ALASKA:
Ongoing snow chances remain with the Brooks Range, with most areas seeing less than 4 inches of snow. Higher elevations of the Brooks Range could see up to 12 inches of snow accumulation in the heaviest hit areas. We’ll keep any snow chances around through the weekend, before tapering off early next. Much like the rest of the state, we’ll see an overall warm weather pattern remaining, as highs will stay in the 30s, with overnight lows in the 20s.
Western Alaska continues to hold onto some showery weather that will remain with us through the end of this week before tapering off. High surf will remain for the Y-K Delta Coast through Saturday morning, as our current low remains moving east through the southern Bering Sea. Water levels are expected to be anywhere from 2.5 to 3.5 feet above the normal high tide line. Beach property and lowest buildings may be impacted, with multiple high tide cycles leading to localized beach erosion.
While rain remains with many areas, we’ll still see snow chances as you head through parts of the Seward Peninsula, Koyukuk Valley and points north. We’ll see some of the highest snowfall totals in the mountains where up to 10 inches will be possible.
Elsewhere, we could expect to see about 3 to 7 inches of snow, while locations of Southwest Alaska largely remain all rain with this event. While things do cool off briefly to close out the week, another low moving into the Bering Sea will drive in warmer weather to Western Alaska next week.
ALEUTIANS:
High winds are likely through the Aleutians, as our current storm continues to build east towards Bristol Bay. The current storm is the remnants of what was former Typhoon Champi. Winds at their strongest could gusts up to 75 mph through areas of the Central Aleutians.
We’ll see the strongest winds linger through the first part of the weekend, with winds dying down below about 50 mph into next week. More storms look to impact the Aleutians as we officially welcome in November.
OUTLOOK AHEAD:
Current overall pattern across Alaska continues to favor above average temperatures for much of the state. This likely will linger through the first 2 weeks of November, as our stormy weather pattern remains with us. While the focus has been Western Alaska, the upcoming trend is heavily favoring the Gulf of Alaska for storms. This will keep Southcentral a bit on the warmer side thanks to southerly advection. Looking for the cold air? We may have to wait until the final week or two of November, when cold air tries to settle into the state.
Download the free Alaska’s News Source Weather App.
Copyright 2026 Alaska's News Source. All rights reserved.