Alaska News

Freezing rain advisories Thursday morning for Anchorage, Mat-Su

Update, 7 a.m. Thursday:

Freezing rain advisories remained in effect in Anchorage and the Matanuska and Susitna Valleys on Thursday morning through 9 a.m.

Update, 11:30 a.m. Wednesday:

A freezing rain advisory has also been issued by the for the Anchorage area starting at midnight and lasting until 9 a.m. Thursday.

"Anything that starts will be after dark tonight," said meteorologist Michael Kutz about the forecasted freezing rain.

He said the area should get a glaze of ice overnight -- between one-tenth and two-tenths of an inch.

"But that's enough to send everybody sliding 60 ways," Kutz said.

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Earlier story:

WASILLA -- The National Weather Service has issued a freezing rain advisory from 3 p.m. Wednesday until noon Thursday for the Matanuska and Susitna valleys.

The forecast calls for snow, rain and freezing rain in the Mat-Su, with little snow accumulation and less than a quarter inch of ice. The advisory covers communities from Sutton, Palmer and Wasilla to Willow and Talkeetna. Forecasters caution people to slow down and be careful while driving because road surfaces will become slick.

Anchorage isn't under an official warning, though the forecast does call for freezing rain in town Wednesday afternoon and evening, with rain on Thursday.

Elsewhere in the state, much of Interior and western Alaska is under a winter storm warning that spans a huge area from the Chukchi Sea Coast to the Yukon Delta to Fairbanks and Chicken and south to Denali National Park and Preserve.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District closed all schools Wednesday due to freezing rain and snow and a forecast for additional freezing rain, according to the district Web site.

Coastal communities were also under a flood warning in effect through Thursday.

-- Zaz Hollander

Anchorage Daily News / adn.com

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