Snow is expected to develop Monday morning from the Western Kenai Peninsula north to the Mat-Su Valleys. The snow is expected to start off as wet snow before transitioning to a drier, more powdery snow by Monday afternoon or evening. Snowfall rates are also expected to increase late Monday. Snowfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches are possible for the Western Kenai Peninsula.
As a result, the National Weather Service in Anchorage has issued a Winter Weather Advisory in effect from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Monday.
Freezing rain mixed with snow occasionally is what NWS is predicting with total snow accumulations of 1 to 4 inches and ice accumulations of around one tenth of an inch. Highest snow amounts from Sterling east. Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. Expect reductions in visibility at times.
This weather system will also usher in warmer air aloft over Cook Inlet Monday morning with the potential for the onset of precipitation to be in the form of a wintry mix of snow/sleet/freezing rain for portions of the Western Kenai Peninsula. Any wintry mix is expected to quickly change to all snow by mid morning Monday. Farther south, warmer air near the surface will move over the Southern Cook Inlet and into Kachemak Bay, allowing a transition to rain for Homer.
Snow may linger along upslope locations of the Chugach and Kenai Mountains through early Tuesday morning before tapering off as this system moves east.
