Weather

Ready the rain gear, Anchorage. We’re headed into a warm week.

Ready the rain gear, Anchorage. Wet, warm, gusty weather is blowing through the Anchorage area.

"We'll probably stay at or above freezing through the week," said National Weather Service meteorologist Shaun Baines.

Anchorage can expect temperatures in the low 40s Monday, with wind gusts as high as 80 mph, the weather service said. A high wind warning was issued for the Hillside, Turnagain Arm and Portage Valley.

Wind will calm somewhat but continue into Tuesday, according to the forecast. Road conditions are expected to worsen.

"The key feature is this high ridge of high pressure over the western U.S.," Baines said.

That dry air and wind has contributed to the fires in California, he said. The high pressure ridge is pushing warmer, wetter, windier weather up north, he said. It's not just affecting Anchorage. Juneau has been experiencing record-breaking warmth.  And Thompson Pass this week had one of the most extreme snowfall rates on record.

After this week's unseasonable soggy episode, it should cool down and, in time for Christmas, possibly snow, he said.

"That's what we're hoping," he said.

Julia O'Malley

Anchorage-based Julia O'Malley is a former ADN reporter, columnist and editor. She received a James Beard national food writing award in 2018, and a collection of her work, "The Whale and the Cupcake: Stories of Subsistence, Longing, and Community in Alaska," was published in 2019. She's currently writer in residence at the Anchorage Museum.

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