Winter Weather Advisory Alaska | Effective 03/14/2026 15:01

...MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL RETURNS ... .Bands of snow showers are currently pushing into the NE Gulf as of Saturday afternoon with widely varying conditions. Advisory level snowfall rates of around 1 inch per 3 hours is expected from Yakutat to Sitka, with lighter rates inland. If snow showers train over one location for an extended period of time, visibility could drop to a half mile at times with greater accumulations. This wave of showers is separate from a stronger low pressure system that is expected to track northward across the panhandle starting Sunday morning and continuing through Monday. Steady snowfall will return with heaviest rates across the northern and central Alaska Panhandle starting Sunday morning and continuing into Monday. Current forecast snowfall accumulations within the Winter Storm Warnings are between 6 to 14 inches, with locally higher amounts expected through Monday evening. For southern panhandle communities in Winter Weather Advisories, expecting snowfall accumulations of 3 to 6 inches, highest totals within interior Prince of Wales Island. The main forecast challenge for the southern panhandle will be the timing and transition period to a rain and snow mix, or potentially all rain by Sunday afternoon with temperatures reaching into the upper 30s to low 40s along the coast as the front pushes northward, limiting potential snowfall accumulations. Snow showers will then continue behind this system with widely variable accumulations through the rest of the week. * WHAT...For the first Winter Weather Advisory, snow. Additional snow accumulations of up to two inches. For the second Winter Weather Advisory, snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph. * WHERE...City and Borough of Sitka. * WHEN...For the first Winter Weather Advisory, until 4 AM AKDT Sunday. For the second Winter Weather Advisory, from 1 PM Sunday to 7 AM AKDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult and is discouraged. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...A band of snow showers has set up just off shore of Baranof Island near Sitka this Saturday afternoon. This band of snow will gradually shift eastward through the afternoon with additional accumulations up to two inches possible. A separate strong front will push into the area by late Sunday morning, with heaviest snowfall rates expected during the early afternoon before diminishing into the evening.