Update, Tuesday at 6 a.m.:
Since Sunday evening, roughly a foot of new snow has fallen at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport — the National Weather Service’s official measuring site for the city.
The winter weather advisory for Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough has been extended until noon Wednesday.
Public schools in both Anchorage and Mat-Su are open Tuesday.
Original story, Monday:
Snow fell steadily across Anchorage Monday, with more expected overnight.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Virginia Rux said the city could see as much as a foot of snow by Tuesday morning, with the heaviest snowfall likely between roughly 3 p.m. Monday and 3 a.m. Tuesday.
Cold temperatures mean the snow will be dry, Rux said.
“Because it is a light, fluffy snow, that can reduce visibility if we get just a little bit of wind, or from any vehicles on the roads kicking the snow back up into the air,” she said.
Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough remain under a winter weather advisory until 7 a.m. Wednesday, with the weather service warning that the blowing snow could make travel very difficult.
Fluffy snow also allows for faster accumulation, Rux added. The forecast says the snow should slow by Tuesday afternoon but may linger into Wednesday. Temperatures are also expected to plummet again on Wednesday, with lows near -15 degrees.
All of the municipality’s graders and plows were already out on the streets on Monday, according to Kenny Friendly with Anchorage Public Works.
“Our crews are out 24 hours a day, working and working,” he said. “So it's a nonstop operation.”
The city’s plow plan prioritizes main roads first, he said, followed by residential streets, sidewalks and trails.
Friendly said he’s optimistic the city’s fleet can handle the upcoming snow dump. Residents can watch the plows online as they make their way through the city. (Those plows also just got named last year. Friendly’s favorite? Berminator.)
Meanwhile, the Anchorage School District is working with the municipality and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to monitor road conditions, according to district spokesman Corey Allen Young. Decisions on school closures depend on multiple factors, he said.
“We obviously live in a winter city where we deal with inclement weather all the time,” he said. “So the goal is just to make sure that roads are safe for families and staff to be able to get to school.”
If the district closes schools Tuesday, it will post notices on its homepage and all school homepages by 5:30 a.m.
