So I'm going to Anchorage to help a friend move...next week. That's end of October. Here in Houston, it's 91 degrees today. I browsed around online and learned it's 40ish, tops, in Anchorage this time of year.

I've been out of cold places for several years and am slightly at a loss as to the packing. I'm just going for a long weekend, and it's just Anchorage...but I don't even own a winter coat!

Who can tell me what to bring?

(We're renting a car, so no standing around waiting for the bus, and slightly limited walking through the Great Outdoors. I didn't used to wear a winter coat much when I lived in the north, so do I *really* need to buy a coat for a weekend?)

I think it depends on what you do have, instead of a winter coat.
For a weekend in the city you can get by with a fleece or other insulating jacket under a shell. The key is layering! Also make sure your friend keeps out a scarf, hat and gloves for you to borrow (you won't necessarily need them but good to have on you just in case). You don't need boots but bring warm socks. If it gets cold your feet will get cold and stay cold all day long.

Alaska was made for the boy scout motto "Be Prepared". Sure you'll only be driving around town and thus not in the cold until... your car breaks down, you get in a wreck sliding on the ice, you get stuck in the snow, the car won't start because its too cold...
If you're moving your friend from one place to another in Anchorage you'll have to be going in and out while carrying boxes. This will make you sweaty and cold. Go light on the body layers (jackets, sweaters, etc) and heavy on the extremities (gloves, warm socks, hat).

Have fun visiting my hometown! Be grateful, I once had to move my packrat mother in the middle of December into a house half the size of the one we were moving out of (the family home for 15yrs). The place we were moving into was down a flight of twisty stairs. At the end of a sloping ice covered walk. After you climbed the 2.5 foot berm of snow at the street corner with whatever furniture you were carrying. Not fun.

Thanks for the tips!

Should I expect snow and ice? (Wow, I feel like a True Texan, not knowing what to expect for weather in places with seasons.) I have plenty of sweaters, though I think I'll need to buy a pair of boots (I have...um...flip-flops and stilettos). I have gloves and scarves and assorted winter accoutrements, and I'm helping the friend move from TX to AK. Not much in the way of Big Boxes Of Stuff.

I'm looking forward to my trip a little more now.

The end of October is always a little iffy. The last few years global warming has really taken a toll and it hasn't been to cold/icy/snowy. BUT as I said before, be prepared. It is most definitely worth taking a bunch of cold weather gear you don't need rather than not having it and needing it. That said Alaskans are pretty nice and won't let you freeze to death (they may however laugh at you and call you a cheechako under their breath).

When I was a kid we almost always had a foot of snow on the ground by Halloween. This makes it difficult to get the right costume for trick or treating. You have to get a couple sizes up so it fits over your snowsuit.

Do either of you have experience driving on ice and snow? Especially in October there can be alot of black ice and if it is cold enough to have the winter ice on the roads (once it sets in it stays solid ice till spring) you need to be really careful and know what you're doing.

Oh and if you really need help just PM me and my Mommy will come to your rescue. She lives pretty close to downtown and is very nice.

That's fantastic!

I forwarded the information you gave me to the friend. I think you've successfully steered her away from renting a car. Which is good, because while I have experience driving in snow and ice (am from Michigan originally), Friend does not.

Thanks for all your help. AND the offer for your Mommy's Help. Mommies are good that way.

Well, I'm here! And it's not half as cold as I was expecting/hoping. I think I could stay here awhile.

Of course, it's only October. I might change my mind come January...or November. But I'm here now, and for now I'm intent on wandering aimlessly through greater Anchorage.

Also, seeing a moose. There are a few that haunt this neighborhood, and I hope I see one before we leave.