Storm

Rain showers will fall in PWS and the eastern Interior this morning then taper to widely scattered showers by the afternoon in the Interior and by evening in PWS.  These showers will swing westward over the mountains into the Cook Inlet region late this morning or afternoon.   In Anchorage and the Mat Su, a few light showers are expected this afternoon.  Showers will linger into tonight, then briefly end.  Rain chances go right back up toward morning and throughout the day tomorrow.

A 972 mb low is centered near Nunivak Island.  This intense low is bringing rain, snow, and very strong winds to SW AK.  Warmer air behind a warm front is moving north into Bristol Bay changing snow to rain.  All rain is expected today for the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak with highs into the 40s and low 50s.  Precipitation will remain in the form of snow north of Bethel despite temperatures warming into the 30s.   All of Southwest is under...

Alaska Airlines passengers flying into or out of Anchorage Wednesday afternoon found themselves waiting a few extra hours due to a large winter storm which pummeled the Pacific Northwest with more than a foot of snow in places. A few evening flights to Seattle were delayed. None were cancelled. “I'm glad I'm getting away for a little bit,” said Jeffrey Akmata, who was on his way to catch a Caribbean Sea cruise out of Miami, “I was supposed to leave at 4:30 pm originally, and leaving at 6:30 pm right now.” Christopher Schumacher had no idea cities down south were experiencing such nasty weather.

The phones were ringing off the hook at Alaska's 2-1-1 answering service. One operator says they fielded more than 60 calls in a four hour period Friday. Most of the callers have questions about storm related recovery, such as who's responsible for cleaning up downed trees, or if there are shelters available for those who still don't have electricity. If 2-1-1 can't answer your question they can likely direct you to someone who can. "Icing your refrigerator or icing your freezer can sometimes hold it for a while, if we know the power will be back on," said Director Karen Bitzer.

It has the look and feel of a high school reunion, but these people were brought together by the death of a close friend and classmate. Claudene Christian lost her life October 29th.  She was part of the sailing crew on the H.M.S. Bounty , a tall ship that sank off the coast of North Carolina during Superstorm Sandy. "Claudene was one of my best friends, so this has been extremely difficult to deal with,” said Jamie Gates. “She was such an amazing person, and I've never met anyone else like her. " Gates says Christian and her became friends when both were on the cheer team at West High School.  Those memories were rekindled when classmates put on a hockey game in Claudene's honor Friday afternoon.

Less than a day after President Obama signed off on a disaster declaration issued for the State of Alaska, several areas affected by September storms began the process of applying for federal assistance. The Alaska Gateway, the Chugach rural education areas, and the Denali, Kenai Peninsula and Matanuska-Susitna boroughs are all areas covered by Wednesday's declaration. Michael O'Hare, deputy director of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, says the federal disaster declaration increases the response and recovery to the local communities for repair facilities and critical infrastructure.

Yet another potent storm system is clobbering Southwest Alaska.  Coastal flooding, minor erosion, blizzard conditions, and heavy snow are all threats with this storm.  Expect deteriorating conditions throughout the day in Southcentral as snow becomes heavy over the Kenai Peninsula.  Blizzard conditions will develop down Turnagain Arm this evening with heavy snow, winds to 40 mph and very low visibilities forecast. I'll have more throughout the morning on this latest storm and it's impacts to our state.

Damage assessment teams from the State of Alaska and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are being deployed to western Alaska communities after last week's winter storm, as part of a joint effort to gather information for state and federal disaster declarations. According to the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, the preliminary damage assessment teams are establishing bases of operation in Nome, Kotzebue and Bethel from which to visit communities and assess the storm's impact.

Severe winds strong enough they flipped planes in Anchorage. At Campbell Lake a float plane turned over and was pulled into the middle of the lake during the storm. Neighbors say they say people in kayaks out anchoring the plane so it wouldn't float further away. At the lake Hood Airstrip another plane flipped. A pilot there tells KTUU this accident could've been worse had the plane toppled on top of another plane. There was no plane in the parking space next to the flipped one. 

Nome, AK has been beaten by one of the largest storms on record to ever hit the state. The massive storm rolled into the western Alaska town Tuesday afternoon and the blizzard conditions has been keeping communication limited, unless you follow Scott A. Johnson on Twitter that is. Johnson has been on a tweeting tear covering every aspect of the storm. As @akscojo, Johnson has been keeping followers updated on everything from the cost of bottled water in Nome to the recent power outages.