Several highways have been closed and motorists are being cautioned about driving on others because of the unusual weather sweeping across the southern Yukon.

The South Klondike Highway is closed between Carcross and Skagway because of poor weather, as is the Haines Road between Haines Junction and Haines, says today's Yukon government road report.

Meanwhile, the Whitehorse weather office is forecasting another 50 to 70 millimetres of rain for the Haines Road for today through to Wednesday morning.

Travel on the 190-kilometre section of the Alaska Highway is not recommended between the Mendenhall subdivision on this side of Haines Junction through to Silver City because of rain causing slippery conditions.

Freezing rain has closed the Robert Campbell Highway between Ross River and Watson Lake. However, the section between Carmacks and Ross River remains open but in poor condition, and the transportation department is recommending no travel along that stretch.

It is also recommending no travel between the section of Alaska Highway that begins halfway between Teslin and Swift River and runs south to Little Rancheria, because of rain causing slippery conditions.

Blizzard conditions have again closed the Dempster Highway.

Bill Miller of the Whitehorse weather office said this morning that temperatures are forecast to return to the seasonal daytime norm of -9 C by Friday.

As unusual as it may be, the current warm trend across the south has not broken any records of consecutive days above zero in the Whitehorse area but has knocked off records for daytime highs, Miller explained.

Last Wednesday's beginning of the warm spell began with a Whitehorse daytime high of 3.8. That edged out the previous record for Nov. 16 of 3.5 set in 1979.

Last Thursday's high of 7.4 shattered the 1957 record of 3.3 and last Friday's 6.1 tied the record set in 1971.

November's record daytime high for Whitehorse is 11.7, set in 1970.

Miller said the warm weather is being brought into the Yukon on a system blowing in from the southwest and crossing over to the southeast, with Carmacks appearing to be on the northern fringe of the system.

Temperatures in Ketza River, for instance, have reached a high of 14.5 during the current warm front, the Whitehorse meteorologist pointed out.

He said there's a 40-per-cent chance of scattered showers in the Whitehorse area today and tonight, with much the same for tomorrow, which will see a daytime high of 6 but with a gradual decrease to 1.

The high for Thursday is forecast to hit 4. Friday will see a return to normal seasonal temperatures with the onset of a cold front, Miller said.

Even when rain is accompanied by above-average 6-degree temperatures, problems are still caused when the moisture hits the frozen ground and roadways, and then freezes.