A powerful and relentless windstorm battered the Matanuska-Susitna Valley on Saturday, tearing roofs from buildings, toppling signposts, and leaving tens of thousands without electricity as arctic air funneled through the region with hurricane-force intensity. The winds, which began overnight on Dec. 5, have not quite let up on Sunday morning, and forecasters say they may continue before easing by Monday afternoon.
Across the Mat-Su, damage reports mounted. The roof of Settlers Bay Lodge peeled away, taking layers of sheeting and shingles with it. The restaurant announced that it will be closed until further notice, saying it had sustained significant storm damage. Residents reported similar roof failures in Wasilla, with sheets of roofing material, chicken coops, greenhouses, and trampolines seen flying across yards and roadways.
A sign at a local gas station was ripped off and scattered, while homes around Palmer and Wasilla suffered broken fences, torn siding, and downed trees. Some residents narrowly escaped serious damage, including in Palmer’s Valley Trails subdivision, where large spruce trees crashed near homes. A trailer-based structure was blown over, and numerous pipes and exterior systems failed in the freezing winds. Cars were damaged as people opened car doors, only to have them ripped by the wind into nearby cars.
The National Weather Service recorded sustained winds of 35 to 55 mph, with gusts reaching 90 mph in parts of the valley. Palmer saw peak gusts of 84 mph and Wasilla hit 75 mph since midnight. Some neighborhoods reported even higher bursts approaching 100 mph. Temperatures in the single digits made conditions harsher, pushing wind chills to as low as 20 below zero.
The storm cut power to more than 20,000 Matanuska Electric Association customers at the height of the event on Saturday afternoon. By early evening, more than 18,000 remained without heat or electricity. MEA crews were dispatched throughout the valley but were slowed by active winds, fallen lines, and widespread debris. Officials said restoration would take time, and some outages could be lengthy.
A Red Cross shelter opened at 10 pm Saturday at the University of Alaska’s Mat-Su College campus in Palmer. Residents needing help can call 1-800-RED-CROSS.
Transportation systems were also disrupted. Railroad crossings on Knik-Goose Bay Road, Main Street, Clapp Avenue, and Hallea Road were knocked out of service after crossing arms snapped in the winds.
Unlike earlier storms this year along Alaska’s west coast, no major flooding or erosion was reported, as this was mainly a wind event.
With power lines down, roofing scattered across neighborhoods, and temperatures projected to fall further Sunday night, officials urged residents to stay indoors unless necessary. Across social media, Alaskans shared images of the destruction as the valley endured one of its most damaging recent wind events.
Photo above of damage at Settlers Bay Lodge as seen on the Facebook page, KGB community, traffic & crime updates – Wasilla, Alaska.
3 thoughts on “Hurricane-force winds rip through Mat-Su: Roofs torn up, thousands without power as shelters open”
As convenient having everyone on a grid for dispatching heat and electricity
When it comes to intense storms
Its really not that convenient because if most people chopper their own firewood and had a wood burning fireplace then at least community leaders know at least the people have a heat source
Just as our vehicles today are all wired up and computerized so all our homes that they would be useless when the wire systems and modern plumbing failed
Storms are growing in intensity and we all have to be prepared for them and prepared for losing more than we budgeted against
If one lives under their means, they’ll feel like they have less to lose when storms topple everything they have also to repairing damages may be easier if they’d squirreled money away for such unexpected events like government lockdowns as Covid-19 and storms
Here in PALMER this wind is still howling. Like the last big windstorm 2021, we had trees fall but nothing too bad. Today we have a big spruce and some big branches laying across our driveway which is a sheet of ice. We have had power because of our generator that we got after the 2018 earthquake. Lesson learned !! With a freezer full of food and refrigerator full of food we were not going to loose all that. Alaska is all about the WEATHER. Two months ago we got a cord of wood delivered for our wood stove…
When this storm passes I would like to encourage every Alaskan to get prepared for the next one. Have extra water, food, flashlights, etc. I read comments online yesterday from folks upset the stores and restaurants were closed……and if there was one open it was probably running out of stuff. Don’t wait till the last minute….if this California girl now Alaska girl can be prepared so can you. Take Care of yourselves.
The bora wind storm we had beginning New Year’s Day almost three years ago was far worse. So many dead standing spruce came down with that storm and in the fishhook area we didn’t have power or phone service for days. Not even a land line. Other areas were out even longer. We had so many trees come down on our property it looked like a war zone. We also sustained damage to our home. This storm not near as bad, nor as strong, nor the level of damage. The bora storm flipped semi’s on the Glenn Hwy. I don’t think that has happened with this storm either. Hence not as bad, but still bad 😅 and plenty of damage. Yes living here we do need to exercise some preparedness for sure!