Disasters · White Pass snowSkagway winter storm: Warning and later advisory ended; road conditions remain unclearAired November 4, 2026 at 4:59 PM UTCThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:07Nine to ten inches of snow fell along the highway approach to White Pass.0:11Alaska's Road Department reported that earlier snowfall on the Upper Klondike0:16Highway, the storm warning, and a later advisory have both ended.0:20The Klondike Highway climbs from Skagway toward White Pass.0:24The warning covered that corridor within the municipality of Skagway.0:28Its elevation forecasts and mile post limits put the main accumulation concern on0:33the higher highway approach to the pass.0:36The original forecast called for nine to fourteen inches of snow, with wind gusts up0:41to forty miles an hour.0:43Those figures described the storm forecasters expected over the October31 to0:48November first warning period.0:50They weren't measurements of how much snow ultimately fell, or how strong the wind0:55became.0:55Forecasters warned that travel could become very difficult to impossible.1:00Later warning text described slick and hazardous road conditions.1:05Those warnings gave drivers a reason to take the storm seriously, but they didn't1:10document a highway closure.1:12The latest advisory also ended before this report's November4 cutoff.1:16That leaves two separate weather products in the past: the original winter storm1:21warning and a later winter weather advisory.1:24The later advisory brought another snow forecast for the same corridor.1:28The warning's original November first end was nine in the morning.1:32A later update extended it to three that afternoon.1:35The separate advisory ran from six p.m.1:38November third until six a.m.1:41November4 th.1:42All those deadlines were Alaska Standard Time.1:46Snow was still in the forecast when the warning ended.1:49The expiration notice said the heavy snow threat had ended at three p.1:53m.1:53while predicting another two to four inches overnight beyond mile post seven.1:58Drivers could therefore encounter further snowfall after the warning period was2:02over.2:02The nine to fourteen inch forecast.2:05Covered the warning's expected snowfall.2:07Alaska's Road Department separately reported about nine to ten inches from Mile2:12Eight to White Pass over twenty-four hours.2:15That observation covered a particular highway stretch, and an earlier period.2:20The road department's observation ran through around eight a.m.2:23Sunday.2:24Though the warning didn't spell out that Sunday's calendar date, it gives a useful2:28picture of snowfall along the upper route.2:31It doesn't supply a final storm total, and adding it to the forecast would risk2:36counting overlapping snowfall twice.2:38The earlier forecast put the snow level around six hundred feet early Saturday,2:43rising to fifteen hundred feet by midday.2:46Forecasters expected that higher snow level to limit accumulation below highway2:51milepost ten, concentrating the concern farther up the route.2:55By the November first update, forecasters expected a snow level near one thousand3:00feet and limited accumulation below mile post seven.3:04Those were successive predictions of where snow would accumulate.3:07Conditions at lower elevations could differ from the higher approach, so the highway3:12forecast can't be treated as one snowfall total for all of Skagway.3:16Several earlier alerts carried conflicting timestamps.3:19Their headlines described a Sunday morning hazard end, while separate message3:24expiration fields gave earlier times.3:27One expiration even preceded the forecast Saturday start.3:30The precise reason for those mismatches hasn't been explained.3:34Alaska also turned its clocks back during the warning from two a.m.3:38daylight time to one a.m.3:40Standard Time on November1.3:43That explains the change in local time abbreviations, but doesn't resolve the3:47conflicting fields.3:48The later November1 update and expiration notice put the warning's end at three that3:54afternoon.3:55The November2nd Highway forecast called for up to around one inch near White Pass.4:00The November3 advisory then forecast up to five inches.4:05An accompanying forecast put around four inches near White Pass.4:08These were separate forecast, with different timing and coverage.4:12The later product was a winter weather advisory, and its stated period ended4:17forty-five minutes before this report's cut-off.4:20An alert ending tells drivers that its forecast warning period has passed.4:25Road crews still have to assess the highway after the snow.4:29A fresh road assessment hasn't answered whether this stretch is clear or safe to4:33travel.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSS
