Southcentral Alaska forecast calls for possibility of freezing rain on Thanksgiving

A wintry mix is in the forecast Thursday in Anchorage and Mat-Su, setting up the potential for hazardous driving conditions on Thanksgiving Day.

Southcentral Alaska received heavy snow followed by below-average temperatures and wind in the past week. Now a new storm system could bring rising temperatures and freezing rain that leads to an icy glaze on road surfaces, the National Weather Service cautioned.

The National Weather Service on Wednesday afternoon issued winter weather advisories for Anchorage and the Matanuska Valley in effect until 1 p.m. Thursday for freezing rain, with total ice accumulations of up to one-tenth of an inch.

Periods of light freezing rain were expected Thursday morning before temperatures rise above freezing by early afternoon. Only rain is expected along the Anchorage Hillside, the weather service said.

In the Matanuska Valley, “the best chance for ice accumulation will be along, and southwest of the Parks Highway, including the Wasilla area,” the weather service said.

During the day Thursday, warmer temperatures were expected to generate rain everywhere but the western Susitna Valley, meteorologist Tim Markle said Wednesday.

“This is not a large storm system, so we’re not expecting a lot of precipitation especially across Cook Inlet and the Anchorage Bowl,” Markle said. “The issue is that with temperatures right around freezing, even just a little bit of light rain might make it just enough of a nuisance to cause some problems.”

A winter weather advisory in effect for the Susitna Valley until 6 p.m. Thursday called for mixed precipitation from Talkeetna south along the Parks Highway, with up to 4 inches of snow and two-tenths of an inch of ice accumulation.