Snow advisory for White Pass expires Wednesday, with more snow possible Thursday night

A winter weather advisory for the Klondike Highway over White Pass expired at 6 am Wednesday, Nov. 4, after the National Weather Service in Juneau forecast up to 5 inches of snow on the road north out of Skagway. The agency's closing notice, issued at 5:33 am, said, "The snow has ended."

The advisory covered Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning. An early version, issued at 11:59 am Tuesday, said travel "could be very difficult to impossible." The version issued at 7:59 pm said travel could be very difficult and roads would likely become slick and hazardous. Those were forecasts, not reports of road conditions.

Forecasters put snow levels around 1,800 feet, which they said would limit accumulation below milepost 10 on the highway. Most versions of the advisory kept the 5-inch total. One version issued at 7:53 pm Tuesday called for up to 10 inches, and the weather service replaced it six minutes later with the 5-inch forecast.

The advisory came days after a winter storm warning for the same stretch, reported by Alaska News on Oct. 31. That warning forecast 9 to 14 inches of snow and gusts to 40 mph. It was first set to end at 9 am Sunday, Nov. 1, and was extended to 3 pm. A weather service storm report Sunday morning, relaying a 511 report, gave around 9 to 10 inches from mile 12 to White Pass since Saturday morning.

The state has asked for proposals from avalanche forecasters for the highway above Skagway, at an estimated cost of $250,000 to $500,000. Proposals were due Oct. 28. In August, a landslide on the Canadian side closed the highway at the border, cutting Skagway's road link to the Yukon.

More snow is possible. The Juneau weather office's forecast discussion Wednesday said some snow may reach White Pass Wednesday night but should stay below advisory levels, and it called for potential accumulations around 4 inches Thursday night. No alert for Skagway was in effect as of Wednesday afternoon.

The weather service urged drivers to slow down, use caution and check current road conditions by calling 511 or visiting 511.alaska.gov.