The National Weather Service (NWS) issued several winter weather alerts for Alaska, with some areas expected to get up to 20 inches of snow while parts of the state are experiencing unusually warm temperatures. Alaska, known for its extremely cold and snowy climate, has experienced some rare warm weather this month.

NWS Alaska meteorologist Tim Markle said the warnings are designed to let community members know when the cold weather presents a risk to the community. However, the old system set wind chill warnings and advisories, which were statewide in scope, and only kicked in when there was a wind chill.

The National Weather Service is calling for a series of atmospheric rivers to descend on Southcentral over the weekend.

Winter weather advisories or winter storm warnings were in place for seven states early Tuesday morning, with the National Weather Service forecasting up to 12 inches of snow for some parts of the country.

On Jan. 23, 1971, a weather observer at Prospect Creek Camp measured a temperature of minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Anchorage, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the Kenai Peninsula are under a flood watch from Friday morning through Monday morning.

In this time when peak cold often arrives in the northern hemisphere, Alaska today celebrates the king-of-the-cold’s birthday.

The rare Southern storm prompted this headline from the Anchorage Daily News: "Hey, New Orleans, please send some of your snow to Anchorage."

Unusually cold temperatures in central Florida have led to winter weather advisories, while Alaska has experienced some rare warm weather this month.

An intense bout of snow as temperatures dropped led to slick roads around Anchorage on Monday after several weeks of unseasonably warm weather. The early-morning shift back to snow, combined with warm asphalt,

Expect temperatures to get warmer during the days through the weekend, but overnight lows will still be freezing for most of North and Central Florida.