Winter Weather in Alaska, November 22 to 24, 2023

A weak front off a deep, occluded low centered near the eastern Aleutians tracked northward across Southwest Alaska on Nov 22. A band of light precipitation led to a mix of precipitation types across the Kuskokwim Delta that evening, with light rain reported by the Bethel ASOS at below freezing temperatures for several hours, before warming up above freezing. To the northeast in Kalskag, precipitation fell as snow. Temperatures were above freezing in Chefornak, indicating that rain fell along the coast. Atmospheric conditions were ripe for freezing rain near Bethel with east to northeasterly wind keeping cooler temperatures near the surface as southerly flow caused warm air to ride over top of it with the arrival of the front.

A series of upper-level troughs tracking northward across Southcentral Alaska led to several periods of rain/freezing rain within the Anchorage Bowl from November 22 through November 24. The first report of freezing rain came in from an NWS employee along the Glenn Highway on the evening of November 22. The next day, a trough tracking north across Southcentral Alaska around midday produced a more substantial band of rain showers, which passed through the Anchorage Bowl around noon. Various ASOS/AWOS reports of freezing rain/unknown precipitation came from Lake Hood, Merrill Field, Elmendorf, Fort Richardson, and Birchwood. Temperatures quickly warmed above freezing, turning precipitation to meteorological rain.

Temperatures fell back below freezing on the evening of November 23. A second band of rain showers crossed the Anchorage Bowl around 9 pm, producing a glaze of ice. Temperatures broadly warmed above freezing overnight, though isolated spots may have seen freezing rain on the morning of Nov 24 with another band of rain. Temperatures warmed further as it passed through and winds shifted out of the southeast.

Alaska DOT reported black ice along the Sterling Highway from the Seward Highway to Kasilof on the evening of November 22, with light, infrequent precipitation across the western Kenai Peninsula. On the morning of November 23, an upper-level trough lifting north across the area brought a band of rain. Around 10 am, an NWS employee reported freezing rain at 29 degrees in Soldotna. Precipitation fell as rain to the south and west as temperatures were above freezing. Temperatures rose above freezing elsewhere as warmer air continued to move in on southerly flow.

Precipitation began as snow on November 22, but as temperatures warmed aloft with persistent southerly flow, freezing rain began to mix in with snow at times on November 23. Reports from the MAWS in Skwentna, as well as the ASOS in Talkeetna, indicated periods of light freezing rain. Freezing rain transitioned over to rain by November 24 as surface temperatures warmed. The Alaska DOT reported icy roads along the entire length of the Parks Highway through the Susitna Valley on the morning of November 24.

Alaska DOT reported icy roads along the Parks Highway from milepost 29 north. Temperatures were above freezing for the Palmer and Wasilla areas, so as several periods of rain showers moved across the Matanuska Valley on November 22 through 24, the areas that saw freezing rain and icy road conditions were in the Big Lake/Houston area, where temperatures were below freezing at times.

Alaska DOT reported black ice and icy roads along the Richardson Highway south of Kenny Lake on November 23 and 24. Conditions were classed as Hazardous on November 24. The Gulkana ASOS also reported unknown precipitation at 31 degrees on the morning of November 24, indicating light freezing rain also affected more central portions of the Copper River Basin as well. Temperatures warmed above freezing that evening with the arrival of a southerly Copper River wind.

The Sleetmute AWOS reported 0.04 inches of freezing rain from 3 to 7 am on November 24. A strong upper-level trough tracking northwest across Southwest Alaska produced widespread showers and warmed temperatures aloft above freezing. Prior to this, light showers produced only snow in the Lower Kuskokwim Valley east of Aniak. Temperatures remained 32 or below in Sleetmute for all of November 24.