Dozens of vehicle accidents reported in Anchorage Sunday after snowfall

Updated: November 6, 2017 Published: November 5, 2017

A pedestrian walks on sidewalk along G Street after the recent snowfall in downtown Anchorage on Sunday. Nov. 5, 2017. (Bill Roth / Alaska Dispatch News)

With 4 inches of fresh snow on the ground in parts of Anchorage, people reported dozens of vehicle accidents to police Sunday.

As of 6 p.m. Sunday, Anchorage police dispatchers had received 65 calls reporting non-injury vehicle accidents, 34 vehicle-in-distress calls and 10 calls reporting injury accidents since midnight.

Snow totals ranged from 4 inches in West Anchorage to a trace of snowfall on Upper DeArmoun Road, according to the National Weather Service.

Usually storms dump more snow on the Hillside, but because of an inversion the cold air required for snow was deeper over West Anchorage, said Joe Wegman, a meterologist with the Weather Service's Anchorage office.

In some parts of Eagle River the snow turned to rain, the agency said.

Robert Fraser of Easy Park clears the sidewalks around the Sixth Avenue parking garage and Downtown Transit Center with a snow sweeper on Sunday. Nov. 5, 2017. (Bill Roth / Alaska Dispatch News)

The forecast for the early work week is for sunshine and temperatures with highs around 35 degrees.

That means the snow should stick around, Wegman said.

Michelle Theriault Boots

Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon.