Christmassy weather with a side of blizzard: Wind, snow, power outages, and road conditions from hell

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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.

12 COMMENTS

  1. I was out emptying my holding tanks yesterday morning in Northern Florida, and it was spitting a little rain that I felt on the back of my neck. Then I saw them. Two tiny snowflakes made their way down between me and our RV. Snow in Florida. We’re supposed to get down to 19° for the next few nights. Cozy up everyone.

  2. Cold temperatures and snow in winter? It must be climate change, stop driving your car and heating your home and this will go away.

  3. Just another Alaskan winter. I can’t be leave all the crying over snow and removal of it. If you can’t handle the snow then move. We have had harder winters. Merry christmas

    • Most of alaska population didn’t arrive for its national
      parks and winters, they came for work. Then there are the old and handicap on a fixed income whom some felt isolated, cutoff, alone, and there no neighborhood youth-young adults looking to earn little money and food
      shoveling out neighbors with poorer health and weaker hearts.

      • Jen I am talking about the street plowing not driveways. Yes people are going to be inconvenienced. If they came for work then leave. Everybody needs to wait and not expect to be plowed out every day. If they want to complain then had over more tax dollars. By the way I have had 2 kids want to shovel my driveway but I had it done.

    • We are used to snow Duh.
      But not used to snow removal that makes Seattle look good. We are a winter city
      With streets still full of snow 10 days after the storm. Looks like maintenance is quietly on strike.

  4. -20° here in the Interior with winds hitting close to 40 mph. Relative chill factor is -55°.
    Merry Christmas!

  5. What more proof do we need that “global warming” or “climate change” are complete myths!? By those “scientists” we should be seeing 70 degrees in Barrow in the winter. Absolute proof that God has a plan for us, and it isn’t to bake us off this world.
    It’s time to recognize the winner of the 2020 election and appoint Him as Mr. President to lead us out of this woke nightmare.

  6. Four+ mornings when the thermistor (digital thermometer nowdays, you know) read -38 or colder in Pleasant Valley/Two Rivers, AK. Brrrrr!

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