Total snow accumulations of 2 to 3 feet were expected from the storm, with the heaviest snow in the Alaska Range foothills.
The heavy, wet snow piling down on the Glenn and Parks highways caused some major problems, with the Glenn near Eureka "almost impassable" on Tuesday, according to state transportation officials, who urged motorists to avoid the area overnight.
Driving was also perilous on the Parks Highway, with drifting snow on the road at Honolulu Hill and East Fork Hill due to strong winds, state transportation officials said.
The weather service said the storm ended Tuesday evening for much of the Susitna Valley. A new storm system coming up over Cook Inlet was forecast to be milder, with 4 to 7 inches of snow west of the Parks Highway and 2 to 5 inches elsewhere.
In Skwentna on Monday and Tuesday, 2 feet of snow buried the area in about 18 hours.
"Snow is good, but you don't like to get this much at once," said Shan Johnson, who with her husband has operated the remote Northwoods Lodge for 25 years.
The couple spent Tuesday breaking trail around their place with their Ski-Doo Skandic Super Wide Track snowmachines. They're doing OK, Johnson said.
But a girlfriend in Skwentna posted an alarming Facebook update. Her husband traps. He's 35 miles away from home with three days of food "and his snowmachine don't do good in this," Johnson said.
The snow was "coming down fast" at Trapper Creek Elementary at lunchtime, said Gale Moses, a Talkeetna resident substituting for the school secretary. The fresh dump combined with existing snow made for about 3 feet total -- chest-deep for first and second graders.
"A couple of them dove into it and I couldn't see their heads and I just freaked out. They were fooling with me because I'm a substitute," Moses said. "I had to send the bigger kids to dig them out."
For road updates, call 511 or check the Web site at 511.alaska.gov.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.