Weather service downgrades Broad Pass storm warning, forecasts 3 to 6 more inches

The National Weather Service in Anchorage downgraded its Winter Storm Warning for the Northern Susitna Valley to a Winter Weather Advisory late Friday morning, Oct. 30. The advisory still called for 3 to 6 more inches of snow along the Parks Highway through Broad Pass.

Like the warning before it, the advisory said travel along the Parks Highway could be very difficult, with low visibility and rapidly accumulating snow. The advisory put visibility as low as one-half mile in steadier snow. The warning had forecast one-quarter mile or less at times.

The warning, which Alaska News reported when it was first posted Oct. 28, took effect Thursday and called for 7 to 15 inches of snow. Forecasters expected light snow Thursday morning, picking up in the afternoon, with the heaviest falling Thursday night through Friday morning. They said snowfall rates of up to one inch per hour were possible during that stretch. Both the warning and the advisory said snow could mix with rain Friday afternoon as temperatures rose above freezing. The warning told drivers who had to travel to carry an extra flashlight, food and water.

The storm came days after snow advisories for Broad Pass ended Sunday, Oct. 25.

Farther north, the weather service office in Fairbanks posted a separate advisory for the Southern Denali Borough, calling for 4 to 8 inches of snow and gusts to 30 mph, with the highest amounts between mileposts 215 and 225 on the Parks Highway. That advisory ran until midnight Friday. In its last update shortly before then, the Fairbanks office said the threat of advisory-level snow had passed and light snow showers would keep falling overnight, steadily weakening.

The Northern Susitna Valley advisory ran until 1 am Saturday. In a final update at 12:52 am, forecasters said steady snowfall through Broad Pass had tapered off to scattered snow showers and steady, heavy snow was not expected to continue.

The weather service directs drivers to call 511 or visit 511.alaska.gov for current road conditions.