A wintry mix of precipitation that fell overnight around Anchorage was making for slick conditions at the start of the Thanksgiving week.
The National Weather Service in an alert early Monday warned that rain, snow and freezing rain that fell overnight from Anchorage north to the Matanuska Valley could make for slick roads. The forecast Sunday evening initially called for several inches of snow. It was raining and 35 degrees at the agency’s headquarters in Sand Lake as the morning commute got underway. Anchorage police reported slippery surfaces for driving and walking, with 12 crashes and 17 vehicles in distress by 11 a.m.
Several inches of snow were also in the forecast for the Matanuska Valley, where a weather service advisory said to 2 to 5 inches of additional accumulation was possible on Monday until midafternoon. The highest amounts were expected in the areas of Hatcher Pass, Sutton and Chickaloon.
With slippery road conditions, drivers were advised to slow down and travel with caution.
The Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center said in a Facebook post that up to a foot of snow in the forecast could increase avalanche danger in that area, popular for winter recreation.
“Expect conditions to change and avalanche hazard to rise on Monday as a quick-hitting front passes through the area,” the avalanche center said.
The forecast in Anchorage changed overnight after southeasterly winds off Turnagain Arm pushed temperatures above freezing Sunday night, according to meteorologist Shaun Baines.Just as significantly, Baines said, the upper atmosphere where snow crystals would develop over the city is dry. Just to the north over the Matanuska Valley, the upper atmosphere is saturated, he said.
Baines said little if any snow was expected at sea level in Anchorage.
The Parks Highway was briefly closed in both directions Monday morning at Mile 275 just south of the Nenana River due to a jackknifed semitruck blocking the road, Alaska State Troopers said. Troopers described road conditions in the area as “extremely hazardous” and warned drivers to travel with caution.