The roof collapsed at a South Anchorage gym during a fitness competition. The Anchorage Office of Emergency Management cautioned residents that the city has had near-record snow conditions this winter, and residents should consider the snow load on their roofs. Officials also warned that property owners should exercise extreme caution if removing snow from their roofs themselves.

Just this month, more than 23 inches of snow have fallen in Anchorage, 17.5 inches above normal. A weekend storm clogged Anchorage streets, creating hazardous road conditions. The Anchorage School District closed school buildings and canceled after-school activities, calling a remote learning day.

All schools in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Borough are closed Wednesday due to slick roads across the region, as snowfall continues. “This is the heaviest snowfall the Anchorage area has seen in over 20 years,” said state Department of Transportation spokesman Justin Shelby. “Our crews are keeping up as best they can.”

Snowfall amounts in the Anchorage Bowl could range from 3 inches on the east side to nothing on the west side, the Weather Service said.

The snowfall came after Anchorage broke the daily record for warmest Dec. 31, with temperatures at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport measuring 46 degrees.

For the second year in a row, the Anchorage area set a new snowfall record. This year it wasn’t the amount of fluffy stuff that went down in the history books — last year Anchorage had more than 11 feet — but the days between the first and last snowfall.

To say Alaska has been snowy this winter is an understatement. Anchorage broke a 57 year old snowfall record Saturday when a storm produced 4.3 inches of snow on Saturday, April 7, 2012.