Snow blows from a ridge in Chugach State Park in this view from Arctic Valley Road on Nov. 7, 2023. (Marc Lester / ADN)
Gusty conditions in the Anchorage area prompted the cancellation of a popular Kincaid Park event Saturday as forecasters expect winds to strengthen Sunday across a swath of Southcentral Alaska.
The National Weather Service issued an Airport Weather Warning for Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport on Saturday.
The alert warns that northerly winds will gust to 35 mph through Saturday evening. Overnight and through Sunday, gusts could reach 40-45 mph.
The blustery weather prompted the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage to postpone Saturday’s Solstice Tree Tour at Kincaid Park.
Organizers have rescheduled the annual event for Saturday, Dec. 20, from 4-8 p.m. at Kincaid.
People celebrated Winter Solstice by traveling around the 2.5-kilometer Mize Loop at Kincaid Park during the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage’s Solstice Tree Tour on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024. (Bill Roth / ADN)
Winds were expected to gain strength Sunday from the Matanuska-Susitna region to Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula.
In the Matanuska Valley — where a destructive windstorm last weekend battered homes and businesses and knocked out power to some residents for several days, prompting a state disaster declaration — a high wind warning will be in effect from noon Sunday to noon Monday.
Forecasters said communities in the Valley, including Palmer, Wasilla, Big Lake, Chickaloon and Sutton, could see northeast winds of 35 to 50 mph with gusts of 60 to 80 mph. Wind chill values could fall between minus 10 and minus 25 degrees, and the strongest winds were expected after 3 p.m. Sunday into early Monday morning.
To the south, a wind advisory will be in effect starting at noon Saturday from the Anchorage area to the northwest Kenai Peninsula, including the communities of Eagle River, Sterling, Soldotna, Kenai and Nikiski.
The weather service expected north winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts of 40 to 55 mph, with winds strengthening into Sunday morning before peaking Sunday afternoon into Monday morning. Forecasters also described the possibility of wind chill falling between zero degrees and 15 degrees below zero.
In Nikiski, localized winds could reach 70 mph, according to the advisory, which is set to expire at noon Monday.
Forecasters cautioned that the strong winds in the forecast could make travel difficult, cause power outages and blow around objects that aren’t secured.
