National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists in Anchorage, Alaska, are warning of flooding as above-average winter temperatures contribute to ice melt.

The average high temperatures for this time of year are in the mid-20s in Anchorage, said NWS meteorologist Joshua Ribail Newsweekbut a ridge of high pressure to the east has contributed to higher temperatures as warm air flows into Alaska from the south. The unusual temperatures have several impacts, including the risk of river flooding as the ice melts.

“Recent warm temperatures have melted portions of the ice sheet in south-central Alaska, resulting in ice movement and some ice jams,” according to a hydrological outlook from NWS Anchorage.

“Transient rises along the region’s rivers and minor flooding of lowland areas are possible through Thursday before a colder air mass returns to south-central Alaska. As colder air moves in late Wednesday into Thursday, flooding and ice formation should ease.”

Data from Pricing Culture’s processed web data, obtained from the NWS and provided to Newsweek revealed that temperatures in Anchorage are more than 13 degrees above the historical five-year average, with a high expected Wednesday of about 38 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Anchorage is experiencing above-average temperatures, with a deviation of 13.2 F from the five-year historical average,” it said in a statement accompanying the data.

“This is a significant increase of 65.02 percent over the average temperature on that day. Also noteworthy is the increased precipitation in the next 24 hours with a probability of 62 percent. The NWS has issued a Hydrologic Outlook Warning of possible ice jams and flooding due to recent warm temperatures and melting ice cover.”

Rainfall is expected over the next three days, the statement said, which could lead to flooding concerns.

“Overall, the weather in Anchorage is expected to be wet and possibly icy, with a high chance of precipitation and the risk of flooding due to ice jams,” it said.

On Tuesday, the high temperature in Anchorage was 47 F, breaking the daily high record for the city. The previous record, set on December 10th, was 46F.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the NWS Anchorage forecast office shared expected temperatures for the next few days. Temperatures will remain in the 30s through Thursday. By Friday they will begin to fall into the upper 20s. Temperatures are expected to drop below 20 degrees by 3 a.m. local time on Sunday morning.

Despite the return of colder temperatures, the NWS Climate Prediction Center expects temperatures in Alaska to remain above normal at least through December 24, according to the eight- to 14-day temperature forecast. The highest chance of warmer temperatures will likely occur in south-central and southeast Alaska, the outlook showed.

According to Ribail, after the cooling down over the weekend and into next week there will be warm temperatures again.

However, the three-month forecast shows temperatures in southern Alaska are colder than normal, suggesting the state could soon experience freezing weather again.