Alaska windstorm leaves thousands without power amid below freezing temperatures

Thousands of people in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough of Alaska are without power after a windstorm with gusts up to 90 mph blew through the area.

Thousands of homes in southcentral Alaska are without power amid below-freezing weather after a persistent windstorm with gusts up to 90 mph blew through the area over the weekend, taking down power lines, damaging buildings and flipping semitrucks and small aircraft.

Approximately 8,500 people in the Matanuska Susitna Valley -- a borough some 40 miles outside of Anchorage that encompasses Palmer, Wasilla and other smaller towns -- were without power as of Tuesday morning, according to the Matanuska Electric Association's outage map.

At one point, around 22,000 customers were without power -- "practically the entire Valley," an MEA Facebook post read.

The outages are especially dangerous as temperatures stay well below freezing in the area and a high wind warning is still in effect.