What a change for much of the southern half of the state for the first day of February. We’ll start out in the southeast. Rain and wind is currently moving into the region. Rain and wind will persist in southeast Alaska through Friday with quieter and drier weather returning by the weekend. In south central we are getting a bit of everything from this storm. Wind, snow, and rain. Coastal locations tonight and tomorrow it rain and a rain/snow mix will persist. Further inland snow, heavy at times, will continue to fall on the Kenai Peninsula and around the Prince William Sound. This heavy snow has caused avalanche danger throughout the region to increase. Read the advisory below from the Chugach National Forecast Avalanche Information Center. Into the Valley, western Kenai Peninsula, and the Anchorage Bowl we are not expecting much in the way of precipitation until Thursday afternoon/evening thanks to downsloping winds that have shut off the faucet for us. The National Weather Service has issued a HIGH WIND WARNING for the Hillside and along the Turnagain Arm from 6 AM to 4 PM on Thursday. Wind gusts could reach 80 MPH. As the winds diminish late in the day tomorrow we should see the snow return. With temperatures likely in the mid to upper 30s the snow could mix with rain in the beginning before changing to all snow as the column of air cools. Friday will likely be very snowy and then drier weather will return for the weekend. In the southwest snow will continue to fall into Thursday with weather quieting down again by Friday. Interior Alaska will begin to see temperatures finally climbing tomorrow and you can expect much warmer temperatures to remain into next week. Out west you will eventually begin to see warmer temperatures by the weekend.

Avalanche forecast as of Wednesday afternoon from our friends at the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center.

“BOTTOM LINE
Avalanche danger is rising towards HIGH. Dangerous conditions can be found in the backcountry. Expert level travel skills are essential today to stay in safe zones. Wind up to 120mph and heavy snowfall are quickly increasing the danger in most of our forecast zone.
AVALANCHE DISCUSSION
Somebody must have pushed the reset button… We are just starting to see the effects of a major storm this morning that will build in intensity through the day. Heavy snow and high wind is expected for most of today and tomorrow. The avalanche danger will rise in relation to the amount of new snow and wind.
We know for sure that avalanche danger will increase with storm snow and wind slabs. We don’t have a great idea how easily it will bond to the old snow surface. This is one of the questions we will be trying to answer over the next few days. The new/old snow interface will be the layer of primary concern until we have better information. The good news is we don’t have any truly concerning deeper weak layers. There are some anomalies in specific areas including the buried surface hoar and near surface facets from mid January that formed before the last big storm. The most important information today is that we are getting lots of new snow and overall stability will be poor due to rapid loading.
I expect blowing snow and poor visibility will be enough to signal that traveling above treeline could be dangerous. As the new snow builds, traveling underneath larger avalanche paths will also become dangerous. Lower elevation areas including steep rollovers and wind loaded pockets may become deep enough to have avalanche issues as well. Choosing safe areas will require a high level of skill and experience today.
MOUNTAIN WEATHER
A large storm system is just starting to enter our region this morning. This storm will bring heavy snow and high wind to Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula, and Turnagain Arm. A blizzard warning is in effect from 9am to 6pm today. Snowfall predictions range from 8-24 inches, with East wind up to 89mph at ridgetops. Temperatures should stay just below freezing today, and perhaps warm up a little more tomorrow.”