Two individuals died in separate fires in Mat-Su, with one victim found outside his home after escaping the blaze, potentially succumbing to extreme cold.

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.

Open water in February.

The library in Palmer partially collapsed on Wednesday evening near closing time.

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.

More than 1,000 domestic poultry and hundreds of wild birds have died or needed to be euthanized in the state since early spring. Since the first case of a deadly strain of avian flu was detected in Alaska in May, more than 1,000 domestic poultry and hundreds of wild birds have died or needed to be euthanized.

It’s not often that Southcentral Alaska residents wake to thunder in the middle of the night. But what forecasters are calling an unusual storm moved from the Talkeetna Mountains into the Matanuska Valley and then Anchorage and south to the Kenai Peninsula from Wednesday night into Thursday morning. At least one lightning-caused structure fire was reported.

State Veterinarian Dr. Robert Gerlach says the Mat-Su case confirms that migrating birds have brought avian influenza to Alaska.

Michael Hamilton, who worked at Valdez Heli-Ski Guides, died Monday in one of numerous avalanches that have been occurring in the Southcentral Alaska backcountry recently. Several recent large wet slab avalanches reported throughout the Chugach are believed to be connected to a buried crust that formed around late October, she said. A warm storm system last week also weakened the snowpack because it added weight and heat.

Extreme winds and cold temperatures have affected the areas. At one point over the weekend, 20,000 households in Mat-Su lost power. 

The Matanuska Experiment Farm in Palmer says they got 1 1/8" of rain on Saturday. I think we got more than that, but based on their measurements I would revise my estimate down to 1 1/2 to 2 inches on Saturday.

"We had never before observed a species of the order Diptera, aside from the mosquitos present every year. Around the middle of September this year, however, there was a large influx of houseflies into our home."

Red currant leaf consumption by something was observed by my supervisor while walking along a salmon stream.

From 10:45am until 11:50am a sudden flurry of snow came and went on an otherwise warm spring day.

Buds are appearing right as we move into a 2-day cold spell of below zero nights. An adjacent willow budded a few weeks ago during a similar cycle of warmth followed by cold, and it appears to be putting some buds out, although on different branches.

The Hatcher Pass Road has been closed since April 3 and will likely remain closed by the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities until at least April

Fairbanks resident Erin Lee, 40, was transported to Mat-Su Regional Hospital via helicopter where she was pronounced dead, according to the statement.