Snow and freezing rain advisories cover Copper Valley and McCarthy into Sunday morning

Copper River Basin drivers face snow, sleet and freezing rain into Sunday morning under winter weather advisories from the National Weather Service in Anchorage. Travel could be very difficult.

The advisory for the Western, Central and Southern Copper Valley and Ernestine runs until 10 am AKDT Sunday. It covers Kenny Lake, Nelchina, Mendeltna, 46 Mile, Tolsona, Glennallen, Tonsina, Copper Center, Gakona and Chitina. Forecasters expect 2 to 4 inches of snow and a possible light glaze of ice.

That total came in a 9:49 pm Saturday update. The first version, issued at 8:05 pm, called for 1 to 4 inches, with the highest amounts south of Gulkana.

McCarthy's advisory expires at 7 am Sunday, with 1 to 3 inches of snow and possible light glaze ice forecast.

Thompson Pass had its own advisory until 1 am Sunday, warning of snow and blowing snow, up to 4 inches, gusts as high as 35 mph and visibility as low as one-half mile at times. Forecasters expected the pass to warm into the mid-30s around midnight, mixing rain with the snow and ending the blowing snow.

The weather service urged drivers to slow down, use caution and check road conditions by calling 511 or visiting 511.alaska.gov. Earlier this week, its Fairbanks office warned of 6 to 11 inches of snow on the Richardson Highway near Black Rapids.

Across the southern basin, snow may briefly turn to a wintry mix Sunday morning before southerly winds and above-freezing temperatures change any wintry precipitation to rain.

In early August, a heat advisory for the Central and Southern Copper Valley and McCarthy forecast highs of 78 to 83 degrees, with the warmest conditions along the Edgerton Highway and McCarthy Road. A U.S. Department of Agriculture Climate Hub summary states that more of Alaska's precipitation is falling as rain rather than snow as temperatures rise statewide, and that the snowfall season is expected to shrink.