A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for much of Southcentral Wednesday. Right now it’s looking like the highest accumulations will be along the Seward Highway between Girdwood and Turnagain Pass. Anyone planning to travel Wednesday across Southcentral should be prepared for poor visibility and snow-covered roadways.
Following this storm we’re in the clear from any active weather until Monday night, which means mostly sunny skies are likely for the second half of the weekend. We’ll see increasing clouds Monday and snow will be likely Tuesday across much of Southcentral, including Anchorage.
A strong front moved over western Alaska Thursday delivering heavy snow and high winds. This storm will slide east overnight, eventually bringing snow to parts of the Interior and Southcentral Friday, but the winds will be left behind.
Anchorage and other southcentral cities and towns will get one more day of sunshine before the impacts of a large storm start showing up here.The storm will hit the Aleutians with high winds and rain and snow. W-SW winds gusting between 45 to 65 mph from Saint Paul and Saint George islands to Adak and Unalaska.
The state’s largest city will see clear skies with fog into the overnight and early morning hours for the next few days. As the fog lifts, sunshine will arrive. Anchorage is seeing below normal temperatures and that means the 27 inch snow depth and over 54 inches of snow for the season, we still look and it still feels...very winter-like! It will be even colder in parts of the northwest and northern regions, with wind chills from 40 to 75 below!
It may have been a dry start to 2021, but we saw consistent snowfall for the second half of February and the winter weather isn’t slowing down as we kick off the month of March. On Monday, 2.7″ of snow fell in Anchorage as of 4 p.m., which brings our seasonal snowfall up to 57″, which is just 3.5″ below normal. This storm is just about done as it will slide east overnight, but we’ll see another chance for snow in Anchorage again Friday.
Are you ready to Rondy? The Fur Rendezvous is underway in Anchorage and the snow sculpting teams will get more snow as they show off their artwork this weekend.Southwest Alaska sees the snow pass by and clearing skies into Saturday. Wind chills to 40 below around Nome, and 55 below zero wind chill factors for Gambell. Make sure to cover exposed flesh in these conditions.
It was a beautiful end to the day Thursday in Anchorage as the clouds cleared midday and the sunset wasn’t until 6:15. The clear skies will be short-lived though as another storm is already moving in from the west. We’ll see clouds extending across Southcentral early Friday, with snow showers likely by the second half of the day. Temperatures will also warm as this storm moves through.
Winter is still in full swing even as the month of February winds down and we’re looking at March coming up. Snow is falling and roads are slippery, so drivers need to be extra careful. On the Kenai peninsula Wednesday, a school bus was hit on K-beach road, so slow down out there. Luckily no one was hurt.Wind chills will be extreme...extremely low...60 to 70 below zero from the western Arctic coast to the eastern Beaufort Sea coast.
We have a number of storms cycling through the state in the next few days. Southcentral sees snowfall through Wednesday morning, and a second round on Wednesday night.The city of Juneau issued an urban avalanche advisory as the city and region deals with rounds of winter weather and an unstable snowpack. A combination of high winds, heavy snow and freezing rain have caused areas of unstable snow in the southeast city, leading to a considerable threat for avalanches.
From southwest Alaska, to the interior, and southcentral will all see two winter storms deliver snow to the state. By mid-week, a mix of rain, snow and wind will hit southeast Alaska. Winds will be especially strong for the panhandle Wednesday. A high wind watch is in place, but could be upgraded as those winds materialize.
Cold, dry weather is expected for Anchorage and areas of mainland Alaska as we head into the weekend. Storm action stays over the Aleutians, but fans east, spawning surface lows that will bring inclement weather to the southeast region in 2 separate waves.
Anchorage and southcentral received snow Thursday. As the storm system that generated the snow exits the region to the south and east, opportunistic cold air will surge in right behind it from the northwest. This will plunge temperatures around the region to some of the coldest of the winter so far. Winter sunshine reflecting off the new snow will make you squint if you don’t have sunglasses.Southeast Alaska will have to deal with winter weather in waves. Snow, rain and gusty winds will accompany not one, but two storms that will affect the region from Friday through Sunday.
Another few rounds of winter weather will be rolling into southcentral and southeast Alaska. Southeast will see the first impacts with snow starting early Wednesday in the northern part of the region, with a second storm delivering another round on Thursday. Also Thursday sees a large and powerful winter low pressure system begin intensifying over the western Aleutian Arc.
Light snow will spread over the southcentral region and Anchorage overnight and accumulations are expected into Tuesday. An active weather pattern is expected to drop snow in the interior as well. Total accumulations of 2-6 inches are expected through Friday.
A large low is affecting the weather over the Aleutians and west coasts, with high pressure holding in the interior. Utqiagvik saw wind chills to 71 below on Thursday!
High pressure is dominating the interior and edges into western Canada. The Aleutians will see several strong low pressure systems over the next few days, bring in warmer air to mainland areas of the state. Overnight, wind chill warnings for north and northwest Alaska, where wind chills could plunge to 55 to 75 below zero!
