Winter storm expected to bring 7 to 11 inches of snow

A snow plow on Glacier Highway last Friday morning. (Photo by Sarah Yu/KTOO)
A snow plow on Glacier Highway last Friday morning. (Photo by Sarah Yu/KTOO)

A winter storm warning is in effect for the Juneau area.

“We’re expecting the snow to start in the Juneau area late [Wednesday night] as the weather front starts pushing in and then it’ll continue through Thursday and begin to diminish Thursday night. We’re expecting between seven and 11 inches of snow through about Thursday afternoon with the heaviest snowfall falling on Thursday morning and into the afternoon hours,” says Brian Bezenek, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Juneau.

The storm, says Bezenek, is being caused by a warm system rolling in and mixing with all the cold air in place. “We have all this warm moist air that is coming in across the gulf and is going to be forced across this cold air and it’s just going to be lifted up and all the moisture is going to fall as snow across the northern half of the panhandle.”

According to Bezenek, the worst snowfall will occur sometime between 4 a.m. and noon Thursday. Bezenek warns motorists of reduced visibility. This is Juneau’s third winter storm of the season.

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