A big avalanche has closed the highway on the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage

SEWARD, Alaska (AP) — A large avalanche and blizzard conditions in southern Alaska cut off road access Sunday to much of the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage.

The avalanche hit the Seward Highway near the intersection of the Sterling Highway around 8 a.m. Sunday. Highway officials expected the road to remain closed for at least 12 hours.

The closure 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Anchorage cut off communities served by the two roads including Seward, a town of about 2,600 on the Gulf of Alaska.

Avalanche warnings were in effect for the southeastern Kenai Peninsula amid a combination of snow and wind gusting to 30 mph (50 kilometers per hour).