Cars travel over the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska, after snow and rain fell Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion) 
Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Cars travel over the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai after snow and rain fell Wednesday.

Cars travel over the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska, after snow and rain fell Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion) Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion Cars travel over the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai after snow and rain fell Wednesday.

Peninsula gets 1st dose of winter with snow, rain

A low-pressure system moved north up Prince William Sound and struck much of Southcentral

Inches of snow followed by rain hit the central Kenai Peninsula this week as a low-pressure system moved north up Prince William Sound and struck much of Southcentral Alaska.

A winter weather advisory was first issued by the National Weather Service for Tuesday night, warning of around an inch of “snow and blowing snow.” That night, Homer Electric Association reported a power outage in Nikiski that had around 1,300 members without power. Outages were restored through the night, with the final outages being resolved around 6:30 a.m.

Around 1 p.m. Wednesday, snow was still coming down in Kenai — far exceeding the forecast inch. National Weather Service Meteorologist Brandon Lawson explained that the low-pressure system causing the precipitation was “a little bit different” than most, which resulted in disagreements within prediction models and uncertainty in forecasts.

The service had expected warm temperatures to convert the snow into rain overnight.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The big questions, Lawson said, were whether or not temperatures warm, by how much, and what the resulting precipitation is. After he spoke, warming temperatures in Kenai resulted in the expected rain, but a weather advisory was in effect until Thursday morning heralding snow of up to 8 inches and “slippery road conditions.”

This being an El Niño year, Lawson said the general expectation is for temperatures to be “above normal,” especially compared to the two previous winters, which were considered La Niña years. That above normal doesn’t necessarily mean warm, but it may point toward the opportunities for freezing rain and recorded temperatures hovering at or around freezing.

For updated forecast information and weather advisories, visit weather.gov/afc.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Logo for the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection. (Image via Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection)
Peninsula fire departments receive grant funding

Thirty-three rural fire departments within the state were awarded funds in a total amount of $306,292.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski speaks at the ribbon-cutting for the Kenai River Bluff Stabilization Project on the bluff above the Kenai River in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, June 10, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Local students nominated to military academies

The students will compete with other candidates for a spot at the school they have been nominated for.

Mersha Tamrat gives free haircuts during the 14th Annual Project Homeless Connect at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Serving a ‘big need’

Project Homeless Connect offers services to people experiencing housing insecurity for 14th year.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy delivers his State of the State speech at the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, with Senate President Gary Stevens, at left, and House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, at right, in the background. (Klas Stolpe/Juneau Empire)
Gov. Dunleavy takes victory lap with selective portrayal of Alaska in second-to-last State of the State

Some legislators criticize “mixed messages” about cooperation, omission of problems needing work.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks during a press conference Dec. 12, 2024, at the Alaska State Capitol. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Updated: Move to pause federal funding leaves local groups reeling

Questions remain after a Monday night order pausing disbursement of federal grants and loans was rescinded Wednesday.

State Rep. Maxine Dibert (right), a Fairbanks Democrat, confers with Rep. Calvin Schrage (I-Anchorage) about a resolution opposing the change of Denali back to Mount McKinley during the House floor session at the Alaska State Capitol on Monday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Alaska House majority rejects GOP effort to turn protest of Denali name change into Trump tribute

Resolution opposing restoration of Mt. McKinley name is first legislation to pass House this session.

A table used by parties to a case sits empty in Courtroom 4 of the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Barnes sentenced to 6 months for felony cruelty to animals

He has motioned to have previous time spent under house arrest credited as time served.

Alexis Alamillo, of Anchorage, carries a sockeye salmon caught in a dipnet from the mouth of the Kenai River in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Fish and Game projects 7 million sockeye for Upper Cook Inlet

This year’s forecast is greater than the department’s projections from last year.

Most Read