First snowstorm of the season dumps heavy snow, causes outages and cancels in-person classes.

The first snowstorm of the winter blanketed much of the Mat-Su Borough with heavy, wet snow and some area accumulations higher than first forecasted. The white stuff also was the source of several power outages that affected many parts of the Mat-Su Borough.

While the white snow created a serene vista and new playgrounds for snow machines, the Matanuska Susitna Borough School District closed schools for in-person learning and opted for online classes Wednesday. All after-school activities planned for Wednesday were also canceled. In a rare move, the Mat-Su College also canceled classes on Wednesday.

According to the National Weather Service numbers released late afternoon Wednesday, snowfall totals were as wide as the Borough, with some areas accumulating 5 inches in some pockets of Wasilla, all the way up to Talkeetna, which saw nearly 13 inches of the white fluffy stuff.

People posting on social media were quick to show the totals in their own backyard, with photos and posts of snow amounts as high as 21 inches. 11 to 15 inches of snow fell throughout Anchorage by Wednesday morning, with more expected before the storm tapers off in the afternoon.

The weather service issued winter weather advisories that were set to expire Wednesday afternoon for the Matanuska Valley.

Residents broke out the shovels, snow blowers, and truck plows as they started to dig out from the inches of heavy snow. Some were still experiencing power outages, as Matanuska Electric Association reported the more than 3000 members had experienced loss of power the evening before. As of Wednesday afternoon, MEA posted that there were still sporadic power outages and that crews were responding, but that additional crews were assisting as well

Driving conditions on much of the Parks and Glenn highways were described as difficult Wednesday morning by the Alaska Department of Transportation as plows made their way clearing the roads and the wet from the snow making it slick for drivers. Side roads were also challenging, catching some drivers off guard and stranding some drivers in the snow.

The next few days will see temperatures dip down into the teens and single digit highs into the weekend, but another front is currently forecasting snow for Sunday along with a return to double digit temps.