Photo: The Canadian Press

It was a late March surprise for residents of Alaska's largest city, the kind that snarls traffic and keeps kids at home for the day.

The National Weather Service said 8.8 inches (22.4 centimetres) of snow fell on Anchorage between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

That's a record for March 29 in Anchorage, said meteorologist Rebecca Duell.

The Anchorage School District cancelled classes for the day, and the deep snow slowed traffic.

The latest snowfall on record of at least one-tenth of an inch is May 22, which occurred in 1964.

The previous high snowfall for March 29 was 3.4 inches (8.6 cm) set in 2001.