Freezing rain forecast for Anchorage and other parts of Southcentral Alaska could make driving conditions dangerous through Tuesday and into Wednesday.
The National Weather Service has issued winter weather advisories for Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula and Mat-Su that all call for at least a glaze of freezing rain.
An update to Anchorage’s advisory early Tuesday indicated light freezing rain or drizzle was expected to develop in the morning and continue through the day, with the southern and western parts of the city most likely to see ice accumulations.
Temperatures were expected to rise above freezing across Anchorage and the western Kenai Peninsula on Tuesday night, forecasters said, warning of the potential for slick conditions if the rain freezes on road and sidewalks chilled by days of cold weather.
Multiple Winter Weather Advisories have gone out in advance of an incoming system set to impact Southcentral Alaska starting tomorrow. Use caution while driving as travel may be difficult. See graphic below for more details! pic.twitter.com/F5xqI1HiAm
— NWS Anchorage (@NWSAnchorage) December 2, 2024
Advisories were in effect for Anchorage, the western Kenai Peninsula and the western Matanuska Valley through early Wednesday morning. Another advisory for the Susitna Valley will be in effect from this afternoon through Wednesday night, where colder air is expected to hang on longer, resulting in ice accumulations of up to one tenth of an inch.
On the western Kenai Peninsula, an advisory for freezing rain is in effect through 6 a.m. Wednesday. The advisory calls for a light glaze of ice. An advisory in effect from 9 a.m. until 3 a.m. Wednesday for the western Matanuska Valley also called for a light glaze.
In the Susitna Valley, an advisory is in effect from 3 p.m. Tuesday through 3 a.m. Thursday, and total ice accumulations of up to a few hundredths of an inch are expected for the area, including Willow and Talkeetna.
The weather service also issued a winter weather advisory for Valdez and Thompson Pass, calling for blowing snow with snow accumulation of 6 to 10 inches. Visibility through Thompson Pass could be reduced to half a mile, according to the advisory in effect from noon Tuesday through midnight Wednesday night.