It’s ba-aack: High wind watch set for the Southcentral this weekend

Just when people were picking up the last of the debris and returning to life with their power back on, another high wind watch looms on the horizon into the weekend and early next week for Southcentral.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued an alert beginning late Saturday evening through Monday morning, calling for winds out of the northeast at 35-50 mph, with gusts between 60-80 mph possible, peaking on Sunday afternoon and into Monday. The winds could also make for some bracing cold wind chill temperatures between -10 and -20.

While initially the most likely locations for windy weather will be the Cook Inlet region, southern parts of the Mat-Su Valley, Seward, Whittier and Valdez, Mother Nature being fickle, other areas included in the alert are Sutton, Wasilla, Palmer, Big Lake, and Chickaloon.

A high wind watch means the potential is there for a hazardous high wind event. Of course, as most have finished clean up from last weekend's windstorm, the impact of the high winds could include "loose debris" such as flying trampolines and garbage cans, property damage, and power outages. Please secure loose objects or shelter them somewhere safe before the winds kick in.

The winds could also impact traffic, as many remember doing battle on the highways against the strong winds.

Meanwhile, the area will remain relatively dry without precipitation, although there is a possibility that the northern parts of the Susitna Valley and Copper River Basin could see some light snow Friday night and Saturday.

The cold, however, lingers for the area. Looking ahead to the upcoming weather pattern, more cold will remain in the Southcentral well into the next week, perhaps with more cold and dry conditions likely through Christmas week.