Anchorage, Alaska: Winter Weather Advisory Brings Snow, Freezing Rain and 60 MPH Gusts to the Hillside

A winter weather advisory takes effect at noon Monday in Anchorage and runs to 3 p.m. Tuesday, and the National Weather Service in Anchorage warns that travel could be very difficult through two commutes. The advisory covers the Anchorage Hillside and Eagle River, including Upper Eagle River, Indian and the Hillside neighborhoods. Forecasters expect mixed precipitation, with total snow of 2 to 8 inches, ice around a light glaze, and winds gusting as high as 60 mph, mainly across the southern parts of the Hillside.

What the advisory says

The weather service updated the advisory at 5:15 a.m. Monday and kept the same timing and totals it first issued on Sunday afternoon. The hazardous conditions will affect the Monday evening commute and the Tuesday morning commute, the advisory says. Strong winds could damage trees and power lines. A separate summary of the Anchorage advisories put the Anchorage Bowl and the Lower Matanuska Valley, including Wasilla, Palmer and Big Lake, at up to 3 inches of snow, ice from a light glaze to a tenth of an inch, and gusts to 50 mph in parts of the valley, over the same period to Tuesday afternoon.

Snow first, then a messy mix

A strong storm system moving across the Gulf of Alaska drives the weather. Precipitation starts as mainly heavy snow on Monday afternoon, the advisory says. Late Monday night and early Tuesday, east winds pick up and the snow turns to a mix of snow and freezing rain. By Tuesday morning the mix could change to plain rain as temperatures rise above freezing. Forecasters stress that the timing of that change is hard to pin down. A later change to rain and freezing rain would push snowfall totals higher. Warmer air arriving sooner would cut the snow and ice totals instead.

What drivers should do

The weather service tells people to slow down and use caution while traveling, and to check the latest road conditions by calling 511 or visiting 511.alaska.gov. Bridges and overpasses turn slick first in this kind of mix, and a road that looks wet can already carry a thin coat of ice. Gusts of 50 to 60 mph can push high vehicles toward the shoulder, and falling branches or power lines can block a dark Hillside road on Tuesday morning. On the western Kenai Peninsula, a related advisory covers Kenai, Soldotna, Homer and Cooper Landing with 1 to 8 inches of snow and gusts to 45 mph, so the storm is a Southcentral problem, not only an Anchorage one.