Sunshine is on the menu for Thanksgiving in Anchorage after a snowy Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.
As for further snowfall, there's a 20 to 30 percent chance it will make an appearance Thursday, according to meteorologist Dan Peterson. By late Wednesday afternoon, about 3 inches of snow had fallen on top of the 5 inches already accumulated at the Weather Service office on Sand Lake Road in Anchorage, he said. Forecasters expect any precipitation Thursday to dust higher elevations and the Hillside.
"In town, sunny and highs of 10 to 15," Peterson said.
Thursday night, temperatures are expected to dip to between 5 and 15 degrees, and remain between 5 and 10 degrees Friday.
"It's going to be a lot nicer," Peterson said. "Colder and nicer."
Peterson said temperatures are falling back in line with the norm in Anchorage after a balmy September and October by Alaska standards.
In fact, weather this Thanksgiving will almost mimic the weather from last year's holiday, when Anchorage experienced a high of 16 degrees, a low of 6 and little precipitation, he said. The warmest Nov. 28 Anchorage has seen was in 1976, when the thermometer hit 47 degrees. The coldest was in 1948, when the high temperature was minus 1, according to the National Weather Service.
Peterson said people in Anchorage shouldn't expect another storm system for at least the next few days.
"I'm going all the way through Tuesday and I'm going with partly sunny," Peterson said.
In both the Matanuska and Sustina valleys there's a 40 percent chance of snow on Thursday, he said.
Reach Tegan Hanlon at thanlon@adn.com or 257-4589.
By TEGAN HANLON