ALASKA SNOW REPORT

* WHAT...Heavy snow. Additional snow accumulations up to 2 inches. Heaviest south and east of Fairbanks. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph. * WHERE...Fairbanks North Star Borough, Central Interior and Alaska Range Passes. * WHEN...Until 1 AM AKST Saturday. * IMPACTS...Visibilities may drop below 1/4 mile due to falling and blowing snow. The strong winds and weight of snow on tree limbs may down power lines and could cause sporadic power outages. Whiteout conditions are expected and will make travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening. Plan on slippery road conditions. Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the Friday evening commute.

* WHAT...Snow and Blowing Snow. Additional accumulations up to 2 inches. * WHERE...Fortymile Country and Upper Tanana Valley. * WHEN...Until 6 AM AKST Saturday. * IMPACTS...Visibilities may drop below 1/4 mile due to falling and blowing snow. Whiteout conditions are expected and will make travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening. Plan on slippery road conditions. Areas of blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the Friday evening commute.

...SNOW FOR THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE OVER THE WEEKEND... .A long duration snow event is possible across the southern panhandle, beginning this weekend and continuing into early next week. The heaviest snow is expected to fall over the weekend. Snow could mix with or change over to rain on Sunday, but with the amount of cold air already in place, overall confidence in that occurring is low at this point. * WHAT...Heavy snow possible. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 12 inches possible. * WHERE...Prince of Wales Island, Petersburg, Wrangell, Ketchikan, Metlakatla, Kake, and Port Alexander. * WHEN...From Saturday morning through Sunday morning. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult and is discouraged. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Snow could mix with or change over to rain on Sunday, especially over POW Island and Ketchikan/Metlakatla areas, before changing back over to snow early next week.

...SNOW FOR THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE OVER THE WEEKEND... .A long duration snow event is possible across the southern panhandle, beginning this weekend and continuing into early next week. The heaviest snow is expected to fall over the weekend. Snow could mix with or change over to rain on Sunday, but with the amount of cold air already in place, overall confidence in that occurring is low at this point. * WHAT...Heavy snow possible. Total snow accumulations of 20 to 30 inches possible. * WHERE...City of Hyder. * WHEN...From Saturday morning through Monday morning. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult and is discouraged. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...A long duration snow event is expected beginning this weekend and continuing into early next week. Snow could mix with or change over to rain on Sunday, but overall confidence in this occurring is low.

Coastal Waters Forecast for Southwest Alaska+Bristol Bay+The Alaska Peninsula Waters and the Aleutian Islands up to 100 nm out. Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent an average of the highest one-third of the combined wind wave and swell height. .TONIGHT...N wind 35 kt increasing to 50 kt after midnight. Seas 9 ft. Freezing spray. .SAT...N wind 45 kt. Seas 10 ft. Freezing spray. .SAT NIGHT...N wind 45 kt. Seas 10 ft. Freezing spray. .SUN...N wind 40 kt. Seas 8 ft. .SUN NIGHT...NW wind 45 kt. Seas 8 ft. .MON...NW wind 45 kt. Seas 9 ft. .TUE THROUGH WED...NW wind 55 kt. Seas 10 ft.

Coastal Waters Forecast for Southwest Alaska+Bristol Bay+The Alaska Peninsula Waters and the Aleutian Islands up to 100 nm out. Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent an average of the highest one-third of the combined wind wave and swell height. .TONIGHT...N wind 40 kt. Seas 14 ft. .SAT...N wind 50 kt. Seas 18 ft. .SAT NIGHT...N wind 50 kt. Seas 18 ft. .SUN...N wind 45 kt. Seas 17 ft. .SUN NIGHT...N wind 50 kt. Seas 17 ft. .MON...NW wind 50 kt. Seas 18 ft. .TUE THROUGH WED...NW wind 45 kt. Seas 13 ft.

Coastal Waters Forecast for Southwest Alaska+Bristol Bay+The Alaska Peninsula Waters and the Aleutian Islands up to 100 nm out. Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent an average of the highest one-third of the combined wind wave and swell height. .TONIGHT...N wind 45 kt. Seas 15 ft. .SAT...N wind 50 kt. Seas 18 ft. Freezing spray. .SAT NIGHT...N wind 50 kt. Seas 17 ft. Freezing spray. .SUN...N wind 45 kt. Seas 15 ft. .SUN NIGHT...N wind 50 kt. Seas 15 ft. .MON...NW wind 50 kt. Seas 17 ft. .TUE THROUGH WED...NW wind 55 kt. Seas 17 ft.

* WHAT... -High Wind Warning: Northeast winds 45 to 60 mph with gusts up to 75 mph early Saturday morning into Saturday night. -Cold Weather Advisory: Very cold wind chills as low as 40 below zero. * WHERE...Thompson Pass. * WHEN... -High Wind Warning: from 6 AM to 9 PM AKST Saturday (tomorrow). -Cold Weather Advisory: until 4 PM AKST next Friday, December 19th. * IMPACTS... - High Wind Warning: High winds could move loose debris and cause damage. Travel could be difficult; especially for high profile vehicles. - Cold Weather Advisory: Dangerously cold wind chills as low as 40 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 5 minutes. Frostbite and hypothermia are likely if exposed to these temperatures. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Overnight wind chills will be dangerously cold and are expected to remain a threat through next week. Winds are expected to increase late this afternoon through tonight with peak wind speeds beginning early Saturday morning and lasting through the majority of the day. The worst winds are expected to decrease later Saturday night, but gusty winds will likely persist into next week.

* WHAT...North winds 45 to 55 mph with gusts up to 70 mph expected. * WHERE...Valdez. * WHEN...From 3 AM to 11 PM AKST Saturday. * IMPACTS...High winds could move loose debris, damage property, and cause power outages. Travel could be difficult.

* WHAT...Northeast winds 35 to 50 mph with gusts between 60 to 80 mph possible. Wind chill values between 10 to 20 below zero. * WHERE...Matanuska Valley. * WHEN...From late Saturday night through Monday morning. * IMPACTS...High winds could move loose debris, damage property, and cause power outages. Travel could be difficult. Cold temperatures combined with strong winds could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

Coastal Waters Forecast for the Northern Gulf of Alaska Coast up to 100 nm out including Kodiak Island and Cook Inlet. Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent an average of the highest one-third of the combined wind wave and swell height. .TODAY...N wind 30 kt. Seas 3 ft. Freezing spray. .TONIGHT...N wind 40 kt increasing to 50 kt after midnight. Gusts to 60 kt after midnight. Seas 5 ft. Freezing spray. .SAT...N wind 50 kt. Gusts to 60 kt. Seas 5 ft. Freezing spray. .SAT NIGHT...N wind 50 kt. Seas 5 ft. .SUN...N wind 45 kt. Seas 4 ft. .MON...N wind 35 kt. Seas 4 ft. .TUE...N wind 30 kt. Seas 3 ft.

Northwestern Alaska Coastal Waters out 100 NM Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent the average of the highest one- third of the combined wind-wave and swell height. .TONIGHT...W winds 25 kt. Seas 11 ft. Blowing snow. Freezing spray. .FRI...NW winds 25 kt. Seas 9 ft. Freezing spray. .FRI NIGHT...SE winds 10 kt. Seas 5 ft. .SAT...S winds 15 kt. Seas 6 ft. Freezing spray. .SAT NIGHT...N winds 15 kt. Seas 7 ft. Freezing spray. .SUN...N winds 20 kt. Seas 6 ft. Heavy freezing spray. .SUN NIGHT...N winds 20 kt. Seas 4 ft. .MON...NW winds 20 kt. Seas 8 ft. .TUE...N winds 20 kt. Seas 5 ft.

Arctic Alaska Coastal Waters out 100 NM Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent the average of the highest one- third of the combined wind-wave and swell height. .TONIGHT...SE winds 25 kt becoming SW. Blowing snow. Snow. .FRI...W winds 45 kt. Blowing snow. Snow. .FRI NIGHT...W winds 40 kt. Blowing snow. .SAT...W winds 40 kt. Blowing snow. .SAT NIGHT...W winds 40 kt. Blowing snow. .SUN...W winds 25 kt. Blowing snow. .SUN NIGHT...W winds 25 kt. .MON...W winds 30 kt. .TUE...W winds 20 kt.

Arctic Alaska Coastal Waters out 100 NM Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent the average of the highest one- third of the combined wind-wave and swell height. .TONIGHT...SE winds 15 kt becoming SW 30 kt. Blowing snow. Snow. .FRI...W winds 50 kt. Blowing snow. Snow. Vsby 1 NM or less. .FRI NIGHT...W winds 50 kt. Blowing snow. Snow. Vsby 1 NM or less. .SAT...W winds 40 kt. Blowing snow. Vsby 1 NM or less. .SAT NIGHT...W winds 45 kt. Blowing snow. Vsby 1 NM or less. .SUN...W winds 30 kt. Blowing snow. .SUN NIGHT...W winds 30 kt. .MON...W winds 30 kt. .TUE...W winds 30 kt.

Coastal Waters Forecast for the Northern Gulf of Alaska Coast up to 100 nm out including Kodiak Island and Cook Inlet. Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent an average of the highest one-third of the combined wind wave and swell height. .TONIGHT...N wind 25 kt. Seas 3 ft. Freezing spray. .FRI...N wind 30 kt. Seas 3 ft. Freezing spray. .FRI NIGHT...N wind 40 kt increasing to 50 kt after midnight. Gusts to 50 in the evening increasing to 60 kt after midnight. Seas 5 ft. Freezing spray. .SAT AND SAT NIGHT...N wind 50 kt. Seas 5 ft. .SUN THROUGH MON...N wind 35 kt. Seas 4 ft. .TUE...N wind 30 kt. Seas 4 ft.

Coastal Waters Forecast for the Northern Gulf of Alaska Coast up to 100 nm out including Kodiak Island and Cook Inlet. Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent an average of the highest one-third of the combined wind wave and swell height. .TONIGHT...NE wind 35 kt diminishing to 25 kt after midnight. Seas 6 ft. Freezing spray. .FRI...N wind 15 kt. Seas 4 ft. .FRI NIGHT...N wind 35 kt becoming NE 50 kt after midnight. Seas 8 ft. Freezing spray. .SAT...NE wind 50 kt. Seas 8 ft. .SAT NIGHT...NE wind 45 kt. Seas 8 ft. .SUN...NE wind 30 kt. Seas 8 ft. .MON THROUGH TUE...N wind 30 kt. Seas 12 ft.