A winter storm which grew worse over the course of Wednesday night has forced the closure of many Southcentral Alaska schools Thursday, and electric crews have restored the power after several outages.
Schools located in Anchorage as well as in the Mat-Su Borough, as well as the Kenai Peninsula Borough, have announced a remote learning day on Thursday because of the severe weather. It is also reported that the University of Alaska Anchorage is also closed for the entire day.
State of Alaska offices in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Borough have also closed for the duration of. The Mat-Su Borough in Anchorage, People Mover and AnchorRIDES bus services have been cancelled for the day.
Alaska State Troopers said in an online message early Thursday morning that the Seward Highway between Portage and Crown Point was “impassable” due to ice and vehicles stranded, despite the efforts of state road crews to clear the road.
“Winter driving conditions are prevalent throughout the Kenai Peninsula and extreme caution is recommended to travel for the purpose of essential travel,” troopers wrote.
The National Weather Service said online that nine inches of snow fell on Anchorage this week, which is more than an inch higher than that of the record previously set by 1982. This winter’s early-season snowfall has shattered local records including Wednesday’s dump as well as Sunday’s first snowfall that lasted for a long time at Anchorage.
The storm caused power cuts across the region The region was hit hard, including Chugach Electric reporting power losses in Hope and Girdwood early on Thursday. In the Matanuska Electric Association, Matanuska Electric Association reported around 550 members not having power on Thursday morning following an outage of 1,600 members in areas such as Chugiak, Mirror Lake and Eklutna regions. There was a surge in power at the Homer Electric Association initially stated around 3,700 members not having power, mostly in Sterling and the surrounding areas, with around 50% of them having their service restored at 7:15 a.m. the following day.
This is still a developing story. Check back often for updates.
