Snowfall gives way to cold in Southcentral Alaska

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Chris Weidner of Currier’s Asphalt Maintenance shovels snow off a sidewalk in downtown Anchorage during the snowfall on Tuesday morning, Jan. 23, 2018. (Bill Roth / ADN)

A snowstorm that dumped 3 to 4 inches of snow across much of Anchorage started easing up Tuesday afternoon, ushering in a new weather system that may bring subzero temperatures to Alaska's largest city and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

By about 1 p.m. Tuesday, 5.3 inches of snow had fallen at the National Weather Service's Anchorage office in Sand Lake, said National Weather Service meteorologist Amber Hill.

"For the most part it seems like everyone had probably 3 to 4 inches, maybe a little more in areas," Hill said. Eagle River had less snow, she said.

By Tuesday morning, the weather service office in West Anchorage had recorded 3.5 inches of new snow.

"That already makes this the second-heaviest snowfall of the season — with only that 4.1 inches in the early part of January," National Weather Service meteorologist Eddie Zingone said around 8:45 a.m.

For Anchorage, forecasters expect snow to continue to fall until 7 p.m., with a chance of snow showers through early Wednesday.

Now, snowfall is forecast to give way to lower temperatures. A new Arctic trough has been hanging over Anchorage for a few days, Hill said.

"The rest of the week is going to be clear but it is going to be getting a lot colder … compared to what we've had," Hill said.

The National Weather Service is forecasting highs of 4 degrees Wednesday and 2 degrees on Thursday.

Forecast lows were 2 degrees Tuesday night, minus 3 degrees Wednesday night and minus 6 degrees Thursday night at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

Similar nightly low temperatures were forecast in the Valley.

Anchorage Daily News reporter Tegan Hanlon contributed to this story.