Southcentral Alaska forecast calls for possibility of freezing rain into Thanksgiving Day

A sand truck makes its way west on Tudor Road on Monday, Dec. 26, 2022 in Anchorage. (Loren Holmes / ADN)

A wintry mix is in the forecast Wednesday night into Thursday in Anchorage, setting up the potential for hazardous driving conditions on Thanksgiving Day.

Southcentral Alaska received heavy snow followed by below-average temperatures and wind in the past week. Now a new storm system could bring warming temperatures and freezing rain that leads to an icy glaze on road surfaces, the National Weather Service warned Wednesday.

HEADS UP

A front is expected to impact Southcentral Wednesday night into Thursday, bringing widespread WINTERY MIX to the region and could potentially !

Continue to monitor the forecast at and know before you go!! #akwx pic.twitter.com/Daqtbm1Fia

— NWS Anchorage November 21, 2023 Meteorologists on Wednesday morning said temperatures in the teens and 20s were expected to rise into the 30s through the day.

By the time precipitation arrives Wednesday night, it could take the form of widespread freezing rain from the western Kenai Peninsula, across the Anchorage Bowl and into Mat-Su, said meteorologist Tim Markle. During the day Thursday, warmer temperatures are expected to generate rain everywhere but the western Susitna Valley.

“This is not a large storm system, so we’re not expecting a lot of precipitation especialy across Cook Inlet and the Anchorage Bowl,” Markle said. “The issue is that with temperatures right around freezing, even just a little bit of light rain might make it just enough of a nuisance to cause some problems.”

A winter weather advisory in effect for the Susitna Valley from 9 p.m. Wednesday until 6 p.m. Thursday called for mixed precipitation, with up to 4 inches of snow and two-tenths of an inch of ice accumulation.