All schools in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Borough are closed Wednesday due to slick roads across the region, as major snowfall overnight Tuesday continues into the afternoon.
The Mat-Su Borough School District also declared Wednesday a “remote learning day,” with all schools closed.
The University of Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Pacific University also closed their campuses Wednesday.
The Anchorage area remains under a winter weather advisory from the National Weather Service until 4 p.m., with 2 to 6 inches of additional snowfall expected during the day. Up to 8 inches is possible in Eagle River and along the upper Hillside.
NWS meteorologist Michael Kutz said 9 inches of snow had fallen overnight Tuesday at the service’s office near Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Heavy snowfall was also reported on the south and east sides of town.
“The roads, even the main drags, have lots of loose snow piled in the middle,” he said. “You can see that they’ve gone through with the plows, but it’s still kind of hashy.”
Kutz said the snow also caused sporadic power outages overnight.
Beyond town, heavy snow was also reported on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula.
“It’s a real disaster going through Turnagain Pass,” he said.
The snow is expected to largely taper off by midday, giving way to single-digit temperatures in much of Anchorage.
Anchorage School District officials said a decision on whether to cancel school activities for the day would be made by noon.