Snow advisory in effect starting Thursday evening in Anchorage

Rain and snow will sweep across much of Alaska in 2016's final days, ranging from freezing rain in Southwest Alaska to as much as a foot of flakes in the Interior and lesser amounts in Southcentral, including the Anchorage area.

The National Weather Service issued a flurry of freezing rain advisories and special weather statements, as well as winter storm advisories and warnings. The updates cover almost all of Alaska, with most snowfall expected Thursday.

Michael Kutz, a meteorologist at the weather agency's Anchorage office, said a series of low-pressure systems moving east across the Gulf of Alaska would be largely responsible for the week's severe weather.

"We're going to see a little bit of everything tossed at us here," Kutz said.

A winter weather advisory for the Anchorage area warns of deteriorating travel conditions overnight Thursday into Friday and 2 to 8 inches of snowfall, with the highest totals closer to the Chugach Mountains.

Snow is expected to start falling around the evening rush hour Thursday for Anchorage and Mat-Su. The snow may quickly become heavy from Anchorage north along the Glenn and Park highways at night. The Weather Service is cautioning drivers to be careful of whiteout conditions and snow-covered roads into Friday morning.

A wide swath of the eastern Interior, extending from Fairbanks north to the Brooks Range, will be under a winter storm warning from Thursday afternoon through Saturday morning. Conditions will include up to 15 inches of snow, wind gusts up to 50 mph and visibility down to half-mile or worse, according to the Weather Service.

The city of Fairbanks on Wednesday warned residents to use caution with space heaters and generators as outages are possible. And it asked people to avoid parking on the roadway to aid snow removal.

Most of Northwest Alaska was under winter storm warnings. Expected whiteout conditions in Nome and Kotzebue included 6 to 12 inches of snow, wind gusts of up to 55 mph and visibility near zero at times.

Southwest Alaska, including Bethel and the Bristol Bay region, were under a freezing rain advisory through 5 p.m. Thursday. According to the advisory, falling temperatures will shift conditions to snow.

The snow is expected to ease by Saturday for New Year's Eve, followed by lower temperatures overnight Sunday and the arrival of another low-pressure system over the Gulf.

"We'll get a little bit of a break over the weekend into the next week, and that's when we're looking at the next one possibly coming into the area starting Tuesday night," Kutz said. "The possibility of flurries starts Monday."