It’s a good day just to stay put and stoke the fireplace, if you are able. Many flights are canceled out of Anchorage, and blowing snow across the roads of the Mat-Su Valley are making for hazardous driving.
Total delays from the Anchorage International Airport were 30 as of Friday morning, and there were 37 flights canceled in and out of Anchorage today. Cars were stuck in large drifts on International Airport Road, in the vicinity of the airport. Aircraft owners were checking on their planes at Lake Hood, where the winds were creating hazardous conditions for aircraft not well secured.
In Juneau, up to 30 inches of snow is expected over the weekend. The area will see numerous frontal band coming through the Panhandle with light, dry snow on Friday, followed by more snow, and then freezing rain on Saturday night.
Power outages are reported across Anchorage and the Mat-Su. In Anchorage, 445 customers of Chugach Electric had no power on Friday morning, including 123 customers in Sand Lake and 111 in Jewel Lake neighborhoods. As of publication time, it about 200 customers had been restored.
In the Mat-Su, over 19,000 customers were out of power on Friday morning, as high winds whipped the region.
“Many members are reporting they are unable to get through on the phone lines. This is correct. With 20K members out of power, the phone lines are quite tied up. The best way to report your outage is using SmartHub on your phone or online. At this time, we are aware that the Greater Palmer area, Butte area, Sutton and on up to Glacierview are out of power and there’s no need to report it – we are working to get substations back online at this time,” Mat-Su Electric Association said.
In Sutton, where the temperature is currently 7 degrees, the power has been on and off on Friday, but crews are tracking down the problem.
The Glenn Highway was closed intermittently near the Palmer Hay Flats Friday as cars were stuck in drifts.
Homer Electric reported nearly 300 out of power on Friday.
