Pineapple express brings rain, slick roads

A weather phenomena nicknamed the Pineapple Express is steaming through Southcentral Alaska, bringing rain and warm temperatures to the upper Susitna Valley. With temperatures hovering slightly above the freezing point, the rain created hazardous road conditions.According to the local Alaska State Troopers, no accidents have been reported.

The local DOT road crew has been out on the road since 2:30  this morning to spread sand along the Talkeetna Spur Road. DOT crewmember Pete McCullough reports that roads are in hazardous conditions and advises drivers to go slow. North of Willow, the Parks Highway had slick patches and road crews are busy spreading sand. North of mile 145 of the Parks Highway, rain has changed to snow and DOT crews are out plowing.

 School has not been canceled for the day, but four Talkeetna elementary school students and a few high school students didn’t make it to class due to the weather. School buses didn’t pick up children at Montana Creek road, Yoder Road and Birch Creek road because the side roads were extremely slick and icy. 

National weather service meteorologist Shaun Baines expects some rain throughout the afternoon, but it should diminish by the evening. The weather service calls for clear and dry weather for the next few days and forecasts cooler temperatures and a chance of snow by the end of next week.

 Unrelated to the weather, the local phone provider MTA reported phone outages in the Talkeetna area due to a malfunctioning processor, but all phone services have been restored.

The local power company MEA had no weather-related outages to report.