Snow and 40 mph gusts are forecast for the Richardson Highway on the last day of August

Drivers crossing the Richardson Highway near Isabel Pass face 4 to 8 inches of snow above 2,000 feet and northerly gusts to 40 mph starting at midnight tonight, two days before the calendar turns to September.

The National Weather Service office in Fairbanks issued a winter weather advisory Sunday morning for the Eastern Alaska Range, north and south of Trims Camp, and revised it that afternoon. The revision lowered the bottom of the snow range from 5 inches to 4 and tied the forecast to ground above 2,000 feet. The advisory runs until 4 am Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Rain turns to snow overnight, and the heaviest of it is expected Monday morning. The snow level — the elevation where falling rain becomes falling snow — drops as low as 2,000 feet, so anything above the pass gets more than the valleys. Forecasters added in the revision that the level stays low all day Monday, that the snow will be wet and heavy, and that it may keep coming above 2,000 feet through much of the afternoon.

"Travel could be difficult. Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility," the advisory said. Forecasters tell drivers to slow down and check 511.alaska.gov, or dial 511, for road conditions.

This is the road that moves freight, fuel and supplies between Valdez and Fairbanks. The state's 511 system listed no weather restrictions on the Richardson on Sunday afternoon, but a work zone between Mileposts 167 and 173 puts flaggers, a pilot car and gravel surfaces on the highway weekdays from 6 am to 6 pm. That window sits directly on top of Monday's heaviest snow.

It is the second winter weather advisory the Fairbanks office has issued in a week. The last one covered the Central Brooks Range, took effect Aug. 27 for 4 to 6 inches at or above pass level, and was cancelled Aug. 29.