Mat-Su schools will be closed Tuesday due to a blizzard causing power outages and hazardous driving conditions.
A winter storm in Anchorage and Mat-Su, Alaska has caused closures of state offices, schools, and bus services, with reports of stranded vehicles and accidents, and up to a foot of snow expected in some areas.
The Hatcher Pass Road in Alaska has opened for the summer season, but deep snow remains at higher elevations, with crews spending the last week digging out the road over the pass before opening it.
Light rain is expected to fall across much of the region Tuesday, with a storm possibly bringing more rain to Anchorage on Wednesday.
Roads remain dangerous, and power outages persist into Sunday evening in parts of Anchorage and the Matanuska and Susitna valleys.
Extreme winds and cold temperatures have affected the areas. At one point over the weekend, 20,000 households in Mat-Su lost power.
Class 2 avalanche in Hatcher Pass closed down a section of the road between Mile 14 and 16. The nonprofit Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center warned that conditions in the area were dangerous and asked that people avoid the Archangel Road trail nearby.
Gusts over 80 mph pummeled the city, compacting snow and causing power outages for thousands. Nearly 20,000 Matanuska Electric Association members lost power Friday morning. On Point MacKenzie west of Wasilla, crews faced snow drifts so large that they needed snowmachines and snowshoes to reach areas where repairs were needed.
Mat-Su schools will be closed again Wednesday, and 5,000 homes remained without electricity Tuesday night after a violent windstorm hammered the Valley.
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