Freezing rain causes icy roads in Anchorage Bowl

Freezing rain was causing icy streets Monday morning in the Anchorage Bowl, and the National Weather Service extended a weather advisory through noon.

Some roads in Anchorage and in the Eagle River, Indian and Eklutna areas were expected to accumulate a light glaze at elevations lower than 1,000 feet, according to a National Weather Service advisory. With patchy freezing rain, some areas of town were extremely slippery into Monday morning, particularly side streets.

“The side roads in Anchorage are especially hazardous, with the rain falling on top of the snowpack and already ice-covered sidewalks and side streets,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Kaitlyn O’Brien.

Temperatures overnight hovered around freezing and dropped below freezing at lower elevations Monday morning, according to the advisory.

“Rain on ice is likely to develop through neighborhoods, which can be incredibly slick,” forecasters said.

On Monday, additional freezing rain is possible in Anchorage Bowl through 11 a.m. The precipitation was forecasted to diminish by evening.

In Susitna Valley, freezing rain Sunday was expected to cause total ice accumulations of up to one-tenth of an inch, according to the advisory, which has since been canceled. The worst conditions were expected in the area south of Talkeetna to Willow.

“We did see reports of freezing rain along areas like the southern part of the Parks Highway and also the northern part of the Glenn Highway,” O’Brien said.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough closed some schools Monday due to icy roads: Big Lake Elementary, Houston Jr/Sr High School, Meadow Lakes Elementary, Su Valley Jr/Sr High, Talkeetna Elementary, Trapper Creek Elementary and Willow Elementary.