ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska’s largest city was socked with up to 14 inches of snow early Friday, with 16 inches reported along the city’s hillside, said National Weather Service lead forecaster Eddie Zingone.
The anomaly, he said, is that the Anchorage forecasting office only had about 6 inches of snow. The office is near Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, where snow was being cleared from the runways all night long, said Alaska Department of Transportation spokeswoman Brenda Hewitt.
A major carrier at the airport, Alaska Airlines, only had minor delays.
“We’ve had a handful of very minor de-icing delays of 10 to 15 minutes but no cancellations or major delays,” Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said by email.
Anchorage police reported icy and snowpacked roads through the city, especially in neighborhoods.
“I know holiday shoppers will be getting out to get their last-minute shopping done, and they just need to take a little extra time,” Anchorage police spokeswoman Anita Shell said.
There were three accidents reported overnight, with 29 vehicles in the ditch.
As if more than a foot snow wasn’t enough, Anchorage residents also were treated to a minor earthquake Friday morning. There were no immediate reports of damage from the magnitude 3.9 temblor that struck at 8:22 a.m. It was recorded at a depth of 28 miles and centered 12 miles southwest of Anchorage.
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