More snow, strong winds and reduced visibility were expected in parts of Southcentral Alaska beginning Monday.
A storm was expected to bring more precipitation and wind gusts to an area spanning from Whittier to Portage and Turnagain Pass, according to a National Weather Service winter storm watch in effect from midday Monday until early Tuesday morning.
“Winds gusting 25 to 45 mph will reduce visibility to one half mile or less at times,” the weather service said, recommending that drivers use caution and slow down as travel could grow difficult.
Total snow accumulations were expected to be between 7 and 15 inches, and possibly higher in the mountains.
The weather service said that other areas along the Seward Highway could receive 2 to 8 inches of low-density snow accompanied by occasional wind gusts, and that visibility may be limited.
“We’re not going to have a wind event like what we had a few days ago, but we’ll definitely get some gusty winds out of this,” National Weather Service meteorologist Pamela Szatanek said.
The Anchorage area wasn’t expected to be as affected by the incoming storm or receive much, if any, new snow as of Sunday, Szatanek said. A few inches of snow had fallen on the city earlier in the weekend, with 5.5 inches recorded at the weather service’s office in West Anchorage, according to Szatanek.
However, the forecast showed another cold snap for the Anchorage area early this week, with temperatures in the single digits and teens across Southcentral.
“That warm weather that we had, that’s going away,” Szatanek said. “It’ll be a return to the really bone-chilling temperatures.”