Second major snowfall hits borough in less than a week

Residents all across the Mat-Su Borough awoke to heavy snowfall, remote learning for the students, and some power outages. This is not a re-run from the snowfall that swept over the area last week.

“We already had about 20 inches on the ground before yesterday,” said Willow resident Cindy McCann, who woke up to snow reaching over half her doorframe. She believes they got about 20 inches from the latest snowfall at her home, which has 9-foot kennels. “We had friends come help dig all the doghouses out.”

Unlike last week’s snow storm, there were warnings in place about how much snow was expected from the National Weather Service for the Matanuska and Susitna Valleys received Sunday. Once again, residents are digging out from amounts of snow, from 10 to 20 inches in some areas.

Monday morning commuters faced some treacherous roads as crews worked to clear roads. Some areas, like the city of Houston, were still digging out from the last snowfall, had made preparations ahead of the snow, and asked residents for continued patience as they work through clearing the roads. And for drivers to use caution and slow down. It was a sentiment repeated throughout neighboring areas as some drivers found themselves stuck in whiteout conditions or caught in a snowbank.

For people planning to head out and unsure of the roads, there is a Facebook Group for that. The Matsu Valley Traffic, Road, and Weather Conditions Discussion group has been actively keeping members updated with traffic and road conditions, vehicles stuck, and offers of assistance. There is also a page on the Alaska Department of Transportation that has a Winter Road Maintenance Priority Map so residents can see DOT priorities for clearing.

Monday, most Borough offices were closed, as were the offices in the cities of Wasilla, Houston, and Palmer. Businesses throughout the areas were also closed to keep people off the roads and home safe. Trash removal services were suspended, but extra bags taken free of charge later.

The bright spot for this snow was that it was not as heavy as last week’s snow. But all of the accumulation may weigh down on rooftops, fire hydrants, and vents. Residents are asked to clear what they can, especially by the vents to avoid accidental carbon monoxide poisonings.

Matanuska Electric Association (MEA) crews were again busy restoring power throughout the weekend as small outages impacted residents from Big Lake and Willow to Hollywood/Sylvan and the Old Glenn.

MEA reported a large substation feeder outage that impacted 2,200 members in the Meadow Lakes and Houston areas. As of Monday evening, MEA posted that they had restored all but 20 members in their service territory. “Snow remains in the forecast for several more days and our crews will continue to work to get everyone restored.”

But it’s too soon to put the shovels and snow blowers away just yet as more snow is expected for Tuesday, around 1 to 4 inches. And again on Wednesday night on into Thursday. The National Weather Service issued a special weather statement Monday evening that a widespread winter storm with mixed precipitation is possible for the Southcentral area. Precipitation is expected to begin as snow for most locations, but as warm, southerly flow brings additional moisture into the air, rain could mix with snow in the valley locations such as the Knik River Valley, the Copper River Valley, western Kenai, and the Anchorage Bowl. The statement also suggests that the potential for freezing rain cannot be ruled out for this event, as cold air will follow, making for possible slippery surfaces and heavy tree branches and power lines could break. As weather forecasters say, expect the forecast to change as this storm evolves.

For more weather information, visit www.weather.gov.

For more information about the Matsu Valley Traffic, Road, and Weather Discussion, visit their Facebook page.