It may be January, but the unusually warm, rainy weather feels more like spring breakup, and it’s bringing the kind of flooding concerns also usually not seen in the Anchorage area until later in the year.
The National Weather Service is calling for a series of atmospheric rivers to descend on Southcentral over the weekend.
A high wind warning is in effect until 5 p.m. Sunday for the city, with gusts to 85 mph possible on the Hillside and along Turnagain Arm. In lower elevations, gusts to 55 mph were possible, the weather service said. Winds blasted the city starting early Saturday and continued Sunday morning.
A backcountry avalanche warning was in effect through Sunday for much of the region, including Chugach National Forest and areas around Girdwood, Portage Valley, Turnagain Pass, Summit Lake, Moose Pass, Lost Lake, and Seward, according to the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center. Avalanche forecasters said human-triggered and natural slides would be likely due to a combination of heavy rain and snowfall along with strong winds, and travel in avalanche terrain was discouraged. Roof avalanches were also described as a possible hazard.
🌧 Heavy rain & 🌨 snowfall accompanied with 🌬 strong winds will create widespread areas of unstable snow. ⚠️The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center has issued an Avalanche Warning for W. Chugach & Kenai Mts from Sat, Jan 25th 6AM to Jan 26th 6PM AKST. #AKwx pic.twitter.com/w2WvHhCdzq
— NWS Anchorage (@NWSAnchorage) January 25, 2025
Another avalanche warning was in effect this weekend at Hatcher Pass, where a slide had crossed onto the already-closed Hatcher Pass Road on Friday.
🏔️ 🏔️ #HatcherPass A small avalanche hit Hatcher Pass Road earlier today. This area was closed as a precaution yesterday. There was no damage to the road, and thankfully no one was in the area. We'll continue to reassess conditions daily and reopen the road when it is safe to do… pic.twitter.com/NjNn7ewNn9
— Alaska DOT&PF (@AlaskaDOTPF) January 25, 2025
The weather service issued a flood watch through Monday morning, warning of potential flooding across a broad swath of the region due to high temperatures, widespread rain and elevated snow levels.
The agency said it was possible 1 to 2.5 inches of rain could fall in Anchorage, the Matanuska Valley and western Kenai Peninsula through Sunday, with more at higher elevations. Two to 5 inches are expected in the Susitna Valley, with 2 to 6 inches of rain expected for the eastern Kenai as well as Prince William Sound.
“Excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations,” the watch said. “Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas.”
The weather service recommended keeping storm drains clear of debris and monitoring forecasts for additional warnings.
As of this week, the average temperature for the month in Anchorage so far was 27.5 F, making it the fifth-warmest January on record. The depth of the city’s snowpack as measured near Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport has steadily declined from 8 inches at the end of December to 3 inches this week.
[Hey, New Orleans, please send some of your snow to Anchorage]
Slick roads were reported in some areas around Anchorage, Mat-Su and the Interior on Thursday morning.
A crash involving a U.S. Army vehicle in a military caravan closed the Richardson Highway about 65 miles south of Fairbanks before 5 a.m. Thursday. No one was injured in the crash, according to the Alaska State Troopers and the 11th Airborne Division. The vehicle was blocking the roadway and required towing, troopers said.
An 11th Airborne Division vehicle towing a trailer was involved in the single-vehicle accident, according to an update from 11th Airborne Division spokesman John Pennell.
The vehicle was one of about a dozen in a convoy that was part of a military exercise and traveling between Fort Wainwright and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and the Donnelly Training Area near Delta Junction, Pennell said.
Although initially reported as a rollover, the trailer tipped over but didn’t fully roll, according to the update. The trailer carried a tank rack module, part of a fueling system, that developed a slow leak when the trailer tipped, it said.
An environmental team from Fort Wainwright responded to handle the leak and military vehicles were dispatched to conduct recovery operations which caused a temporary blockage of the highway, the update said.
The road had reopened by late morning Thursday.
State transportation officials also announced Thursday that Hatcher Pass Road was closed at Mile 14, the Gold Mint trailhead parking lot, “as a preventative measure for the potential for a natural avalanche to impact the open road.”
The closure was expected to last at least through the weekend, officials said. They recommended travelers check the road’s status on the Alaska 511 road conditions site.