A powerful snowstorm buried Bainbridge Island — and much of the Puget Sound area — in a thick blanket of snow early Monday morning, prompting school closures, late ferries and power outages that affected thousands.

Bainbridge Island students got a snow day after classes were canceled for the day.

Schools throughout Kitsap County were also shuttered, including the North Kitsap, South Kitsap, Central Kitsap and Bremerton school districts.

All Olympic College campuses were closed and all activities were also canceled.

The snowstorm prompted the late opening of the Kitsap County Courthouse and all county offices Monday. Courts and county offices opened two hours late, at 10 a.m. Feb. 6, and were expected to close early, at 3 p.m.

Traffic was slow and light on major roadways.

Bad roads left Washington State Ferries unable to get enough crew for the M/V Walla Walla on the Bainbridge Island-Seattle ferry route early Monday, and the manpower shortage put the boat 30 minutes behind schedule most of the morning.

The snowstorm knocked out power to nearly 99,000 homes and businesses throughout Western Washington, Puget Sound Energy reported just after 11 a.m. Monday.

Much of the southern end of Bainbridge Island was without power Monday. PSE said more than 900 customers in the Fort Ward area lost electricity just after 10 a.m.

Another 150 homes near Gazzam Lake were without power, and scattered outages were reported near the Grand Forest and north of Winslow.

Branches laden with wet snow were also falling onto island roads, and also onto power lines, leading to multiple road closures Monday across the island.

The city of Bainbridge Island also canceled the meeting of its Design Review Board, planned for Monday afternoon, because of the weather.

According to the National Weather Service’s office in Seattle, rain mixed with snow is forecast — with more snow overnight — through Wednesday on Bainbridge.