🎄 Jingle Bells & Black Ice Spells: Memaw’s Southcentral Holiday Road Report

💅 “Sugarplum, if the roads sparkle today, it ain’t Christmas lights … that’s ICE.”

By Gina Hill | Alaska Headline Living | November 2025

Southcentral Alaska woke up this morning humming a frosty little tune, and let me tell you, it’s less â€œSilent Night” and more â€œSlip, Slide, and Hold On Tight.” With a Winter Weather Advisory bearing down right in the middle of holiday hustle season, Memaw’s here with your festive, frosty, and downright sassy road report.

Light the candles, fill up your thermos, and let’s jingle through this mess together.


🌡️ Memaw’s Holly-Jolly Temps & Road Conditions

⚠️ Winter Weather Advisory
When: 11 AM today – 6 AM Sunday
Where: Anchorage, Lower Mat-Su, NW & SW Kenai Peninsula, Skilak Lake, Southern Susitna Valley

What’s in Santa’s Weather Sack Today?

  • ❄️ A dusting of snow (just enough to hide the danger, how magical!)
  • 🧊 A shiny sleigh-path of freezing rain up to a tenth of an inch
  • 🌬️ Breezy conditions that’ll tinsel-twirl your bangs
  • 🎁 Temps hovering around “this will freeze your peppermint mocha solid”

Impacts:
Roads, especially bridges and overpasses, are about to turn slicker than an elf on a fresh waxed candy wrapper. Holiday travel may become very difficult, so drive like you’re hauling a pie with mile-high merengue and don’t want to drop it. 🥧


🎅Memaw’s Festive Temps & Conditions Table

Region / HighwayHigh / LowMemaw’s Holiday Notes
Anchorage / Seward Hwy Access30° / 26°Freezing rain after lunch. Those bridges will be singing “Slip Away” — go slow, sugar cookie.
Lower Mat-Su / Glenn Hwy20s–30sSnow + ice = crunchy gift wrap on the road. Every shiny patch is a holiday trap.
Southern Susitna Valley / Parks Hwy20s–30sWintry mix all day. Treat the road like Grandma’s antique ornaments — carefully.
Kenai Peninsula / Sterling Hwy20s–30sSnowflakes at first, then icy drizzle. Cooper Landing curves are not in the giving spirit.
Western Kenai / Seward Highway20s–30sFreezing mist along Turnagain — pretty enough for a postcard, dangerous enough for a cautionary tale.
Richardson Highway20s–low 30sNormal winter conditions — but honey, DO. NOT. PARK. ON. THE. SHOULDER. Santa is watching and so is DOT.

🛷 Memaw’s Holiday Highway Huddle

🛣️ Glenn Highway

Glenn Highway @ 2nd Knik River Bridge MP 31.1/Alaska 511

As icy as a snowman’s handshake. Bridges are plotting. Go easy on that candy-cane accelerator.

🛣️ Parks Highway

Parks Highway @ Talkeetna Road MP 98.7/Alaska 511

Cold pockets + freezing rain = sleigh ride you did not sign up for. Keep both mittens on the wheel.

🛣️ Seward Highway

Seward Highway @ Portage Glacier Road MP 78.9/Alaska 511

Turnagain Arm will be sparkly, shiny, and up to no good. Don’t let the pretty fool you.

🛣️ Sterling Highway

Sterling Highway and Birch St. – Park/Alaska 511

A morning flurry followed by frozen drizzle … pure holiday chaos. Leave room, leave early, leave your risky habits at home.

🛣️ Richardson Highway

Left: Ice formations inside the Castner Glacier ice cave, a popular winter sightseeing stop two years after portions collapsed following melt-triggered flooding. (U.S. BLM)
Right: Alaska 511 camera view of the Richardson Highway near Tenderfoot (MP 292.6). Officials remind travelers not to park on the highway shoulder when visiting the glacier./Alaska 511

💅 And from Memaw to you:
If you’re sightseeing Castner Glacier or anywhere else festive, stay off the shoulder. DOT says use the pullouts or risk turning your stockings into hazard triangles.


🎁 Memaw’s Merry Little Safety Tips

  • If the roads look glossy, that’s not Christmas magic. That’s ICE. 🧊
  • Bring snacks … Santa does (water, trail mix). 🍪
  • If you don’t leave early, you’ll arrive stressed, sweaty, and still late. ⏰
  • Keep a blanket, extra gloves and don’t rely on holiday magic alone. 🧣
  • If your car starts singing “Ice Ice Baby,” pull over somewhere safe and get your bearings. 🎶
  • Remember: black ice doesn’t care if you’ve been naughty or nice. 😈😇

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