ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A sunny break on Wednesday over Southcentral Alaska gave residents a chance to take a breather after nearly a foot of snow Monday to Tuesday.
But don’t get too relaxed, because Halloween in Southcentral is calling for snow and rain.
As for overnight, there is a chance of snow and temperatures in the 20s. That will mean slick roads, and with snow expected to fall Thursday morning, it could cover up those slippery areas of roads and highways. Take it slow in the snow!
The storm set to hit Southcentral is already pushing snow, freezing rain and gusty winds over Southwest Alaska. The storm is centered over the Bering Sea.
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No advisories or warnings going into Wednesday night, but this next storm is likely to move in very challenging weather conditions all over again. Starting early Thursday, snow is likely to be falling over the Kenai Peninsula.
The snow will move north to Anchorage, with 2 to 3 inches possible, and then mix with rain by afternoon, and in another possibility, if temperatures remain too warm, rain could be substantial, about 7/10 of an inch.
Southeast Alaska will get a break Thursday and Friday too. Halloween should remain mostly dry, with just a few showers. Another storm front reaches the region by the weekend.
The hot spot for Alaska on Wednesday was Sitka at 55 degrees and the cold spot was Anaktuvuk Pass with a temperature of 15 degrees below zero.
Alaska could see a boom in oil production next year, a sharp reversal for a state that has seen decades of declining production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
EIA estimates in a forecast released this week that Alaska could see a 13 percent rise in production compared to 2025 — the largest annual increase for the state since the 1980s — thanks to two new projects on the North Slope.
ConocoPhillips’ Nuna project came online in December 2024 and is expected to produce 20,000 barrels a day at its peak. Pikka Phase 1, jointly owned by Santos and Repsol, is slated to start production in early 2026 and could reach peak production of 80,000 barrels a day later that year.
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The state last year averaged about 421,000 barrels a day in production, according to EIA, and could be roughly flat this year. The agency estimates that oil production could grow to 477,000 barrels a day next year. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, cheered the forecast in a statement.
The trans-Alaska pipeline near Pump Station 1 in Prudhoe Bay. (Marc Lester / ADN file)
A federal pipeline agency has proposed a $243,800 fine against the operator of the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline, related to a small crude oil leak in a pipeline heating system north of Fairbanks.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration says the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. committed several “probable violations” related to the “overpressure event and leak” in the heating system on Nov. 13, 2024, the agency says in the Oct. 2 notice.
A second small leak was also discovered soon afterward as the heating system was under repair.
The agency’s proposed fine is its first for Alyeska Pipeline in at least a decade, agency records show.
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The heating system, built in 2020, cost more than $10 million to build, records show.
Since the leak, Alyeska Pipeline has not operated the heating system, except for testing or maintenance, because other alternatives are available, said Michelle Egan, a spokesperson with Alyeska Pipeline.
Less than a cup of oil leaked, she said.
There was no environmental impact or risk to the main pipeline because the heating system was isolated from it, she said.
“We would need to work with PHMSA if we decide that there’s some reason we do need to use the system,” she said.
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The 800-mile pipeline is critical infrastructure in Alaska, transporting the North Slope crude oil that underpins much of the state economy. The pipeline has transported 18 billion barrels of crude oil since starting in 1977.
The heating system, built at Mile 238 of the pipeline near Coldfoot, consists in part of lengthy, 8-inch pipe to divert some crude oil from the mainline. The oil is heated for reinjection back into the mainline.
The system was designed to help prevent winter icing.
The November leak occurred when a pressure relief valve froze and couldn’t operate, after it had been tested with water, the report says. The failure of the valve caused the system to exceed the maximum operating pressure.
The valve was insulated for outdoor service but lacked heat tape, the report says.
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Before the leak, the valve provided “overpressure” protection in the heating system 13 times. But Alyeska Pipeline only identified these recurring “abnormal” events during the investigation into the November leak, “long after many of these events occurred,” the report says.
The recurring events and absence of records indicated that “response, investigation, and correction of the operation of the safety device had not occurred” as required by federal law, the report says.
No high-pressure alarm was configured for the heating system, though pressure information “was available via controller screens and locally,” the report says.
The crude-oil weep from the flange set was not found until Nov. 25, 2024. The pipeline company determined on Nov. 26 that the “overpressure event” occurred, the federal agency says.
The pipeline company has until Dec. 17 to respond to the proposed penalty, Egan said.
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“We’re going through that as thoroughly as we can, and continuing to work with them to make sure that we’re in compliance,” she said.
The notice was signed by Dustin Hubbard, director of the western region for the Office of Pipeline Safety in Colorado.
The proposed fine comes on the heels of a separate proposed compliance order issued by the agency in April.
That order raises concerns about inspections for possible cracks in the main pipe.
Alyeska Pipeline is “still working with PHMSA on the issue of running a crack tool,” Egan said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.
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“Our system integrity engineers assess the conditions of the pipe routinely and believe our current methods provide sufficient analysis to detect and manage issues,” she said.
Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. is owned by affiliates of Alaska’s major oil producers.
Harvest Alaska, an affiliate of Hilcorp, is the largest owner at 49%, while ConocoPhillips Transportation Alaska and ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. own the rest.
For thousands of Alaska’s federal workers, the government shutdown that ended last week was the latest episode in a tumultuous year, as President Donald Trump has sought to drastically reduce the size of the federal civilian workforce.
Since the beginning of the year, Alaska’s federal workers have been offered buyouts, been subject to mass firings and watched as programs they administer were cut or altered.
Alaska — with one of the highest concentrations of civil servants in the country — stands to see an outsized impacts from these changes. As of last year, Alaska had more than 15,000 federal employees.
Are you a current or former federal employee in Alaska who has been impacted by these changes? We’d like to hear your story.
