People navigating higher elevations in Denali National Park and Preserve Thursday may have to lace up their snow boots.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the park, Healy, Carlo Creek and Kantishna from 6 p.m. Wednesday to noon Thursday. Between 4 and 8 inches of snow could fall in the Alaska Range at about 2,500 feet above sea level, the weather service said.
Nick Schwartz, a meteorologist at the weather service, said a forecast of heavy snow in June is "somewhat unusual" for the area.
"It certainly doesn't happen every year and maybe not even every other year," he said.
Temperatures in the higher elevations of the Alaska Range are forecast to dip into the low to mid-30s Wednesday evening. Snowy conditions will likely not impact the roads leading to the park or the visitor center. However, portions of the Denali Park Road, which visitors can access by bus inside the park, climb above 2,500 feet.
The advisory cautions that because of the snow, "visibility may be greatly reduced. Travel and outdoor activities will be very difficult."