Flooding cut off part of the Dalton Highway on Tuesday after heavy rain hammered the northern Interior early this week. The highway connects the North Slope to the rest of the state.
Rain overwhelmed culverts on a section of highway near the Yukon River – between milepost 112 and 156 – which closed to traffic this morning. Alaska Department of Transportation spokesperson Angelica Stabs said crews are on the scene.
"We just had some water overtopping our roadway due to the recent heavy rains in the area," she said. "So, at this moment, we are not advising travel in the area."
The storm broke longstanding records throughout much of Fairbanks, which got 1.3 inches of rain on Monday. The previous record for that same day was 0.97", set in 1961.
That weather system also triggered the state's first winter storm warning of the year, which went into effect for the North Slope today. The National Weather Service forecasted freezing rain and snow along the Arctic coast, which could last until tomorrow morning.
Jason Laney, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Fairbanks, said the worst of the storm system is almost over.
"There's still some residual moisture left over, and we're still kind of stuck with some disturbances that have to come this way," he said. "Next week looks like we're finally going to flip the switch and get back to more typical weather around here."
As of press time, the state Department of Transportation doesn't have an estimate on when the flooded section of the Dalton Highway will reopen.
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