12 photos of the wreckage from Mat-Su’s powerful windstorm

By
AKPM Staff
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A highway sign is ripped off and laying in trees.
High winds in Palmer blew over an exit sign off the Glenn Highway. Photographed Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022. (Matthew Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

Powerful winds slammed the Matanuska-Susitna Borough this weekend, with gusts reaching at least 90 mph in the Palmer area. The winds flipped small planes, toppled trucks, smashed windows and tore off roofs. They led to widespread power outages and frozen pipes in cold temperatures. Schools are closed through Wednesday.

Emergency officials say no one was seriously injured in the storm.

As winds subside, Alaskans in the Mat-Su are assessing damage and cleaning up the wreckage.

Here are 12 photos of what that looks like:

Ice forms on the outside of a big store.
The Carrs grocery store in Palmer on Tuesday. Pipes broke and a portion of the roof is gone but the grocery store was operating as normal. (Matthew Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
Ice covers the entrance of a store.
Ice and snow cover the entrance of the Carrs grocery store Monday night after pipes burst in cold temperatures. (Hillary Walker)
Remnants of a trailer in the grass of the highway.
The remnants of a trailer off the Glenn Highway. (Matthew Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

RELATED: As winds subside, Mat-Su residents take stock of devastation

A small plane is flipped upside down.
High winds over the weekend flipped small planes upside-down at the Palmer Airport. (Matthew Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
A small plane is flipped upside down.
Another one of the planes flipped by high winds at the Palmer Airport. The Piper Cherokee-6 is owned by Fly Around Alaska flight school. (Matthew Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
A man looks at the snowy ground.
Christopher “CJ” Young inspects damage on various planes caused by heavy winds in Palmer over the weekend. A Piper Cherokee had it’s tie-down rings broken off and the chain holding the tail down also snapped. (Matthew Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
A semitruck is overturned
A semitruck blocks part of the road on Monday, near mile 34.5 of the Glenn Highway. (Screenshot of Alaska 511 webcam)
A pavilion is flattened outside.
Winds destroyed a pavilion at the Palmer Depot. (Matthew Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
People shoveling snow around a car.
Palmer residents help Amber Rose dig out her car. The car had been parked near the Palmer Depot from Friday until Tuesday and at one point had a snow drift up to the passenger side window. (Matthew Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
A highway sign is ripped off and laying in trees.
High winds blew over an exit sign off the Glenn Highway. (Matthew Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
A truck is tipped on its side.
A toppled work truck at the Palmer Airport. (Matthew Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
Paneling is ripped off a white trailer.
A trailer destroyed by heavy winds and abandoned off the Glenn Highway. (Matthew Faubion/Alaska Public Media)
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