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Forget that frigid, calm weather that blanketed Anchorage on Wednesday night.

Forecasters at the National Weather Service were warning Thursday of a storm moving out of the Bering Sea and expected to deliver high winds but little or no snow to Anchorage.

By late afternoon, a blizzard watch issued earlier in the day had been canceled. But forecasters still expected "dangerous winds" up to 75 mph in higher elevations and along Turnagain Arm this afternoon. Those rowdy winds should calm to 10-15 mph by tonight.

Nevertheless, the big storm triggered an array of weather warnings across Alaska.

The Susitna Valley west of the Parks Highway could see snow starting at 9 a.m., with up to 2 feet accumulating over the subsequent 12 hours. Lighter snow is expected in the rest of the Susitna Valley.

Other watches and warnings issued by the weather service include:

• Homer: A blizzard warning from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today on Homer Bluff. Up to 4 inches of snow and winds reaching 45 mph are expected. By later in the day, the snow should turn to rain.

• Girdwood, Seward, Whittier: A blizzard warning noon-9 p.m. today in western Prince William Sound and the Kenai Mountains, with heavy snow being pushed by winds to 55-65 mph in Portage Valley and Turnagain Arm. Snowfall between 4 and 8 inches is expected.

• Thompson Pass: A blizzard watch from this afternoon to past midnight. Winds up to 60 mph and heavy blowing snow are expected to cut visibility to less than a quarter-mile. About 18 inches of snow may fall.

• Bethel: Blowing snowfall in the Kuskokwim Delta, with gusts up to 50 mph, and expected visibility less than a quarter-mile. Conditions will improve as the storm moves inland.

• King Salmon, Dillingham, Naknek: A blizzard warning in effect until 4 p.m. today, with winds from 25 to 55 mph, snowfall up to 12 inches and visibility a quarter-mile before the storm moves off.

"We're not expecting a lot of snow into Anchorage, at least during the windy part of the event," forecaster Bob Clay of the National Weather Service said Thursday.

The La Nina winter forecast earlier this year across much of Alaska seems to be shaping up as a wet one in Southcentral. November brought record precipitation -- and warmer-than-normal temperatures -- to Anchorage, with 2.87 inches of precipitation shattering the 1976 record for the month.

Normally, Anchorage sees 15.3 inches of snow in December, according to the weather service. The snowiest December came in 1955, with 41.6 inches. Half of the four snowiest Decembers on record came in the last seven years -- 37.6 inches in 2003 and 36.9 inches in 2006.

But this time, Anchorage appears to be escaping much accumulation.

Snowmachiners, snowboarders and skiers will welcome whatever arrives.

"Skiers and riders can never get enough powder," noted Amy Quesenberry of Alyeska Resort in Girdwood. "We are stoked for more snow; that's just what we need to get the (mountain's) North Face open."

Alyeska has been up and running since before Thanksgiving. Arctic Valley north of Anchorage has been less fortunate.

"It kills us," proclaimed the area's website, "but we need one more Big Storm to open for the 2010-2011 season."