AccuWeather.com

By Matt Alto, Meteorologist

Feb 3, 2012; 12:37 PM ET

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(Photo by photos.com)

Two highways located south of Anchorage were closed for most of the day on Thursday because of an avalanche early that morning.

According to the Alaska Department of Transportation, the avalanche occurred Thursday at approximately 7 a.m. on the Seward Highway at the intersection with the Sterling Highway.

The slide was estimated to be between 3-10 feet deep and approximately 100 feet wide, which is considered a small- to medium-sized avalanche.

The highway was open at the time of the avalanche, fortunately no cars were involved and nobody was injured.

Crews from the Alaska Department of Transportation removed snow and debris caused by the avalanche shortly after sunrise. The Alaska DOT also used military-style cannons to bring down snow that didn't come down during the avalanche, preventing other potentially dangerous avalanches. Both highways were reopened around 3 p.m. when crews had fully cleared the roadway.

The Alaska DOT will send more artillery to reduce more avalanche hazards along the Seward Highway Friday. Motorists who must travel on these highways are advised to use caution in the days to come with the risk of more avalanches. However, DOT officials are encouraging those who don't have to travel the routes to not travel at all.

The risk for avalanches escalated Wednesday throughout the region's Chugach Mountains, which were loaded with near-record amounts of snow, when temperatures rapidly warmed as a powerful storm packing hurricane-force winds brought new rain and snow to the area.

As the warmer and denser snow fell on top of the massive amounts of dry and cold snow already on the mountain, the heavy new snow in combination with the rapidly changing weather conditions acted as the trigger for the avalanche.

The Seward Highway cuts through the mountains of the Chugach State Park and connects Anchorage to Seward, which is located south of the city on the Kenai Peninsula. The Sterling Highway also runs south of Anchorage and connects the city to the scenic tourist town of Homer.

Anchorage is coming off the third-coldest January on record where the average temperature was just 2.5 degrees. The city is also amidst one of the snowiest winters on record with a total snowfall of 93.9 inches; well above the season average of 74.5 inches.