'Weird weather' Rain and wind, snow and floods leave many with weather whiplash

Over the past few years, Mother Nature in January has definitely kept Mat-Su Borough (MSB) residents on their toes. In 2023, residents and businesses were battered with a windstorm, with hurricane-force winds. In January 2024, another powerful windstorm wreaked its own havoc around the Mat-Su.

And this January, Mother Nature certainly hasn’t disappointed after a weekend of heavy rains, winds, ice and snow packed a wallop to different areas of the MSB.

“In Alaska, we have weird weather, especially this time of year. What stands out for this event is the uncommon length of time,” said Casey Cook, Emergency Manager for the Mat-Su Borough, referring to the various weather patterns that came through. The MSB was caught in an “atmospheric river,” and unseasonably warm temperatures, dumping inches of rain on some parts the Borough, and with it, ponding and flooding, some of which resulted from ice and debris collecting and ultimately damaging culverts. At the other end of the Borough, residents were dealing with wind and snow that snapped trees and caused avalanches.

“There were reports of local flooding to the core area of Mat-Su, but there have been no reports of any major damage,” Cook said.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District announced that all Region 6 schools—Su-Valley Jr./Sr. High, Talkeetna, Trapper Creek, and Willow Elementary—were closed Monday, January 27, 2025, citing the hazardous weather conditions and power outages.

Areas of the Little Su River in Houston swelled as sheets of ice broke off and jammed the river, bringing water close to several homes tucked away in the community. Valley Transit commuter services were temporarily suspended, as were some routes for Kids Kupboard in Big Lake and Houston, while many residents in the upper Susitna Valley were without power due to weather. Meanwhile, the road to Hatcher Pass remains closed after the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) reported several avalanches. Here’s a wrap up of the impact the weather is having so far.

Matanuska Electric Association (MEA) reported several outages throughout the weekend in the Petersville and Talkeetna areas, areas that saw multiple outages as MEA crews battled damaged wires and dozens of downed trees from heavy snowfalls impacting, working throughout the weekend to clear dozens of trees, and later a second outage in Talkeetna from a substation affecting 1,200 members. MEA crews worked to restore power to Talkeetna in sections to allow crews going on mandatory rest after 24-hour shifts, swapping in fresh crews to finish restoring power on the remaining Talkeetna area outages.

MEA also reported outages in Palmer near the Alaska State Fairgrounds, Butte, Eagle River, and Meadow Lakes.

As of Monday morning, MEA reported that there was another outage in Talkeetna after crews had made significant progress overnight, with smaller tap outages that crews are going to be working on throughout the day. Meanwhile, in Trapper Creek/Petersville area crews continue to clear the miles of lines and are about halfway done, with additional clearing crews assisting with that line today. There were still over 300 members without power in these areas as crews continuing to make repairs, fix damaged equipment and clear trees back from the easements.

“We remain hopeful that the upcoming break in the weather will help accelerate restoration efforts. Thank you for your patience and understanding as our crews work tirelessly to restore power to all members,” MEA wrote on their social media.

Officials with the DOT&PF extended the closure of Hatcher Pass Road. Originally, the road had been closed at MP 14, but officials later expanded the closure to MP 10.8, just past the Skeetawk Ski Area following an avalanche on January 24, which also dammed up the Little Su River in the area, flowing through Government Peak campground.

As of January 27, Palmer-Fishhook Road (Hatcher Pass Road) remained closed at MP 10.8 as naturally occurring avalanches have decreased as the storm moves through. DOT&PF is continuing to assess conditions daily and providing updates after a site visit.

The Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center warned that the avalanche hazard is considerable for wind slab and deep persistent slab avalanches above 2,500 feet, while the danger is moderate below that elevation.

“The weekend’s storm was an unprecedented, extreme weather event. Hatcher Pass experienced extreme rain at low elevations and intense snowfall at upper elevations,” the Center wrote on its social media page, reporting that since the weather event began on January 22, they have seen nearly 50 inches of snowfall and 10 inches of Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) at upper elevations and nearly three feet of snow and 6 inches SWE at lower elevations. “If you are reading this, congratulations. You lived through a historically significant weather event.”

The Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center warns that dangerous avalanche conditions still exist, with human-triggered avalanches more likely than natural avalanches, though they are still possible.

There was also an avalanche on Parks Highway MP 219, resulting in road closures while crews worked to clean the site. Crews remain focused on restoring the highway and avalanche mitigation remains weather-dependent; assessments are ongoing.

“We are always prepared for the worst,” Cook says of the OEM and urges members of the community to be prepared for whatever weather event comes next. “It’s important that the community be prepared for Alaska’s weird weather.” He recommends having an ability to shelter in place by having a back-up heat source, food, medicines, and supplies for members of the household, including furry and feathered ones. “The more prepared the community is, the lesser the affect these events will have in the long run.”

As for the weather forecast for the rest of the week, the National Weather Service is calling for a return to deep freeze conditions as temperatures dip down to single digit highs with lows below zero for the remainder of the week.

Updates will be posted on www.511.alaska.gov as conditions change. For updates on the weather, please visit www.weather.gov