Weather service issues winter advisories for Fairbanks and Interior, with ice possible

The National Weather Service in Fairbanks issued winter weather advisories Saturday morning for the Fairbanks area, Nenana, the Yukon Flats, the Central Interior and nearby summits. It also issued a winter storm warning for the Upper Koyukuk Valley.

Around Fairbanks and nearby valleys, the advisory runs from 10 am Sunday to 10 pm Monday. Forecasters expect up to 2 inches of snow, then mostly rain overnight Sunday into Monday. Any rain will act as freezing rain on surfaces below freezing, the weather service said, and travel could be very difficult. Drivers should slow down and check 511.alaska.gov or call 511 for road conditions.

The Upper Koyukuk Valley warning calls for 8 to 12 inches of snow, a glaze of ice and gusts to 30 mph through 10 pm Monday. An advisory for the Dalton Highway summits, the White Mountains, Fortymile Country and the upper Chena River Valley runs from 10 pm Sunday to 4 pm Tuesday, with 3 to 7 inches of snow, gusts to 40 mph and visibility below one-half mile at times.

Nenana could see up to an inch of snow and a glaze of ice, and the Yukon Flats up to 2 inches and a glaze of ice, through 4 pm Monday. The Central Interior advisory, through 4 am Monday, calls for up to 3 inches of snow and up to a tenth of an inch of ice, most of it in Lake Minchumina.

Light snow is expected Sunday. Warmer air moves in Monday, with a rain and snow mix in the valleys and moderate snow at higher elevations. Temperatures "could drop below freezing once again" Monday night, the weather service said, which could leave roads slick into Tuesday. Gusts on higher terrain could bring blowing snow that cuts visibility to a mile or less.