Update 7:45 a.m. Thursday
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District announced early Thursday that Susitna Valley schools would be closed for the day due to unsafe road conditions. Schools affected are in regions 4, 5 and 6, ranging from Goose Bay and Big Lake in the south to Talkeetna and Trapper Creek in the north.
An updated forecast Thursday morning warned of another 6 to 14 inches of snow for the northern Susitna Valley from Talkeetna north before Friday night. By Thursday morning, snow reports for the area ranged from 5 1/2 inches at Big Lake to a foot at Amber Lake south of Petersville.
Original story:
PALMER — The latest storm moving into the region is expected to bring anywhere from 10 to 25 inches of new snow to the Susitna Valley.
A National Weather Service winter weather advisory issued early Wednesday calls for several rounds of snow starting Wednesday morning and extending into at least Friday morning. Highest accumulations are expected along the Alaska Range, decreasing south toward Talkeetna, according to the advisory.
Confidence is high that several rounds of snow will impact the Susitna Valley from early Wednesday morning through at least Friday morning. The highest snow accumulations are expected along the Alaska Range, with forecast accumulations decreasing south towards Talkeetna. #akwx pic.twitter.com/jHEkGpIHs6
— NWS Anchorage (@NWSAnchorage) November 15, 2023
The storm marks a third significant system to move into Southcentral Alaska in the past week. A major snowstorm ending last Thursday buried Anchorage in at least a foot of snow, several feet in places. Another storm Monday dumped at least 9 inches, bogging down travel as plow crews struggled to keep up. Schools in Anchorage shifted to remote learning for a third straight day Wednesday, though Mat-Su schools were open and providing buses.
A trained observer in Trapper Creek measured a foot of fresh snow on Monday night, according to the weather service.