Alert archive / Alaska / Winter Storm Warnings in 2012

Winter Storm Warning 15, NWS Juneau, AK

January 29, 2012

NWS Juneau, AK issued this winter storm warning at Jan 29, 2012, 4:25 PM AKST. It was in force for 6 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jan 29, 2012, 4:25 PM AKST (01:25 UTC)
Expired
Jan 29, 2012, 10:33 PM AKST
In force
6 hr
Issued by
NWS Juneau, AK

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

654 
WWAK47 PAJK 300125
WSWAJK

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
425 PM AKST SUN JAN 29 2012

AKZ025-300600-
/X.UPG.PAJK.WW.Y.0013.000000T0000Z-120130T0900Z/
/X.NEW.PAJK.WS.W.0015.120130T0125Z-120130T0900Z/
JUNEAU BOROUGH AND NORTHERN ADMIRALTY ISLAND-
INCLUDING THE CITY OF...JUNEAU
425 PM AKST SUN JAN 29 2012

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT AKST TONIGHT...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JUNEAU HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM
WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT AKST
TONIGHT. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* SNOW...ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION OF 3 TO 4 INCHES. STORM TOTAL
  SNOW ACCUMULATION 6 TO 9 INCHES THROUGH MIDNIGHT.

* IMPACTS...TRAVEL WILL BE HAZARDOUS. HEAVY WET SNOW WILL BE 
  DIFFICULT TO MANAGE. 

&&

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WARNING MEANS THAT A WINTER STORM IS ALREADY OCCURRING OR
IMMINENT. THIS STORM COULD POSE A THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY.

THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED BY 9 PM AKST THIS EVENING OR
SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT.

&&

$$

AKZ021-024-300600-
/X.CON.PAJK.WW.Y.0013.000000T0000Z-120130T0600Z/
EASTERN CHICHAGOF ISLAND-
EASTERN BARANOF ISLAND AND SOUTHERN ADMIRALTY ISLAND-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...HOONAH...ANGOON
425 PM AKST SUN JAN 29 2012

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM AKST THIS
EVENING...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM AKST THIS
EVENING. 

* SNOW...ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION OF 2 TO 4 INCHES. STORM TOTAL
  SNOW ACCUMULATION 3 TO 5 INCHES.

* IMPACTS...TRAVEL WILL BE DIFFICULT. 

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

AN ADVISORY MEANS THAT A POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS EVENT IS ALREADY
OCCURRING OR IMMINENT.

THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED BY 9 PM AKST THIS EVENING OR
SOONER IF CONDITIONS WARRANT.

&&

$$
2 follow-up statements
282 
WWAK47 PAJK 300549
WSWAJK

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
849 PM AKST SUN JAN 29 2012

AKZ021-024-300700-
/X.EXP.PAJK.WW.Y.0013.000000T0000Z-120130T0600Z/
EASTERN CHICHAGOF ISLAND-
EASTERN BARANOF ISLAND AND SOUTHERN ADMIRALTY ISLAND-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...HOONAH...ANGOON
849 PM AKST SUN JAN 29 2012

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WILL EXPIRE AT 9 PM AKST THIS
EVENING...

THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WILL EXPIRE AT 9 PM AKST THIS
EVENING. 

SNOWBAND HAS PASSED THE AREA AND WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE IMPROVING.
REPORTED STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION WAS 3 TO 6 INCHES. BEHIND
THE TRAILING EDGE OF THE SNOWBAND...LIGHT FLURRIES WITH PATCH FOG
WILL CONTINUE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS.

THIS WILL BE THE FINAL STATEMENT ON THIS EVENT.

$$

AKZ025-300900-
/X.CON.PAJK.WS.W.0015.000000T0000Z-120130T0900Z/
JUNEAU BOROUGH AND NORTHERN ADMIRALTY ISLAND-
INCLUDING THE CITY OF...JUNEAU
849 PM AKST SUN JAN 29 2012

...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT AKST
TONIGHT...

A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT AKST
TONIGHT. 

* SNOW...ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION OF 2 TO 3 INCHES. STORM TOTAL
  SNOW ACCUMULATION 6 TO 9 INCHES THROUGH MIDNIGHT.

* IMPACTS...TRAVEL WILL BE HAZARDOUS. HEAVY WET SNOW WILL BE 
  DIFFICULT TO MANAGE. 

A WARNING MEANS THAT A WINTER STORM IS ALREADY OCCURRING OR
IMMINENT. THIS STORM COULD POSE A THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY.

THIS STATEMENT WILL BE UPDATED BY MIDNIGHT AKST TONIGHT OR SOONER
IF CONDITIONS WARRANT.

&&

$$
314 
WWAK47 PAJK 300733
WSWAJK

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
1033 PM AKST SUN JAN 29 2012

AKZ025-300845-
/X.CAN.PAJK.WS.W.0015.000000T0000Z-120130T0900Z/
JUNEAU BOROUGH AND NORTHERN ADMIRALTY ISLAND-
INCLUDING THE CITY OF...JUNEAU
1033 PM AKST SUN JAN 29 2012

...WINTER STORM WARNING IS CANCELLED...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN JUNEAU HAS CANCELLED THE WINTER
STORM WARNING. 

SNOW BAND HAS PASSED THE AREA AND WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
IMPROVING. REPORTED STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WERE 6 TO 9
INCHES. A FEW FLURRIES WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH
MIDNIGHT.

THIS WILL BE THE FINAL STATEMENT ON THIS EVENT.

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this winter storm warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Juneau, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this winter storm warning went out at Jan 29, 1:54 PM AKST, 2 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 1:54 PM AKST, 2 hours 31 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
154 PM AKST SUN JAN 29 2012

.SHORT TERM...LOW PRESSURE OVER THE FAR SE GULF WILL MOVE NE
ACROSS CENTRAL SE AK THIS EVENING...AND REACH NW BC LATE TONIGHT.
AN OCCLUDED FRONT WILL MOVE NE INTO THE ERN GULF MON...WITH A LOW
PRESSURE WAVE ON THE FRONT MOVING INTO THE ERN GULF AS WELL. USED
A BLEND OF THE UKMET AND GEM FOR THEIR GOOD HANDLING OF THE
CURRENT LOW IN THE SE GULF AND THE LOW PRESSURE WAVE ON MON.

 MAIN FORECAST CONCERN WILL BE HOW MUCH MORE SNOW FALLS OVER THE
N-CENTRAL AREA BEFORE TAPERING OFF TONIGHT. BASED ON QPF
CONSENSUS OF GEM/ECMWF/UKMET...LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER 2+ INCHES OF
SNOW SHOULD FALL IN THE PAJN/PAOH/PAGN AREAS THIS EVENING BEFORE
IT TAPERS OFF LATER TONIGHT. WILL KEEP THE WW ADVYS FOR THOSE
ZONES GOING AS IS. PAGS HAS ALSO BEEN SNOWING DECENTLY BUT THEY
WILL DIMINISH EARLIER...SO AM NOT PLANNING ON ANY ADVYS FOR THEM
ATTM. FURTHER N SOME SNOW MAY REACH THE PAHN/PAGY AREAS THIS
EVENING BUT AMOUNTS SHOULD BE LIGHT. AREAS S OF FREDERICK SOUND
SHOULD BE MOSTLY RAIN ALTHOUGH PAFE HAS BEEN SNOW OR A MIX SO FAR
TODAY BUT TEMPS ARE NOW ABOVE FREEZING AND PRECIP SHOULD BE
MAINLY RAIN BY LATE AFTERNOON HYDER IS ONLY SNOWING LIGHTLY WITH
TEMPS NOW ABOVE FREEZING SO THEY SHOULD TRANSITION TO RAIN THIS
AFTERNOON ESPECIALLY ONCE SOME WIND GETS IN THERE. MORE PRECIP
WILL COME IN MON WITH NEXT FRONT WITH MAINLY SNOW OVER THE NRN
THIRD AND RAIN OR A MIX OVER SRN AREA. NOT ISSUING ANY WW
HEADLINES FOR THAT SYSTEM RIGHT NOW DUE TO CURRENT HEADLINES AND
SOME UNCERTAINTY ON QPF WITH MON SYSTEM.

 OTHERWISE...WINDS OVER THE NRN AREA WILL BE DECREASING THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING. WILL ALLOW STRONG WIND HEADLINE TO END AS
IS FOR PAGY AREA. WILL HAVE MIN GALE TO START FOR NRN LYNN CANAL
AND SCA FOR SRN LYNN CANAL BUT THEY BOTH SHOULD DROP BELOW SCA BY
LATE EVENING. MORE SCA WINDS SHOULD MOVE IN FOR MON WITH THE NEXT
FRONT AND LOW PRESSURE WAVE OVER THE ERN GULF. IF THE LOW IS A
BIT STRONGER THAN CURRENTLY FORECAST MAY NEED GALES FOR THE
E-CENTRAL AND NE GULF LATER MON.

&&

.LONG TERM...MID AND EXTENDED RANGE FORECAST IS SOMEWHAT
CONVOLUTED DUE TO INCONSISTENCIES BETWEEN MODEL RUNS AND MODEL
AGREEMENT, MOSTLY AT THE SURFACE. ALOFT MODEL AGREEMENT IS MUCH
BETTER AS THE OVERALL PICTURE IS WELL REPRESENTED. 500 MB TROUGH
WILL BE DIGGING SE OVER THE WESTERN GULF AND NE PACIFIC MID WEEK.
THE HEIGHT PATTER WILL REBOUND BY THE WEEKEND INTO A RIDGE OVER SE
ALASKA WITH ANOTHER TROUGH DIGGING OUT OVER THE ALEUTIANS.

AT THE SURFACE, MODEL INCONSISTENCIES SHOWS UP AS EARLY AS WED
WITH THE NEXT FRONT MOVING EAST ACROSS THE GULF. THE NAM IS MUCH
FASTER THEN THE OTHER MODELS. 12Z GFS WAS ALSO FASTER THEN THE
12Z EC BUT HAS SINCE SLOWED UP TO NEARLY MATCH THE EC. THE NEW 18Z
GFS HAS ALSO DONE AWAY WITH A SECOND LOW THAT WOULD HAVE FORMED
ALONG THE FRONT AND MOVED NORTHWARD THROUGH THE CENTRAL GULF WED
NIGHT THAT MOST OF THE OTHER MODELS DID NOT HAVE. THIS SEEMS TO
REMAIN THE THEME THROUGH THE EXTENDED RANGE AS MODELS ARE KEEPING
SOME FEATURES THE SAME WHILE OTHER FEATURES ARE DROPPING IN AND
OUT WITH SUCCESSIVE RUNS. OVERALL THE CONSENSUS SEEMS TO BE FOR A
FRONT TO COME THROUGH LATE WED NIGHT INTO THURS THEN HAVE
SOMETHING COME NORTHWARD INTO THE GULF FRI NIGHT ACCOMPANYING A
WARMING TREND INTO THE WEEKEND. THE GFS WANTS THAT SOMETHING TO BE A
RIDGE WITH A WEAK TROUGH EMBEDDED IN IT, WHILE THE EC IS HEADING
TOWARD A 988 MB LOW.

DECIDED TO STICK WITH THE EC FOR MID RANGE UPDATES THROUGH WED
NIGHT AS IT HAD THE BEST MODEL AGREEMENT AND CONSISTENCY. FOR
THURS AND BEYOND, HEADED TOWARD THE HPC DATA THAT INCORPORATES
MORE ENSEMBLE DATA INTO ITS CONSTRUCTION TO SMOOTH OUT THE
INCONSISTENCIES PRESENT BETWEEN THE OPERATIONAL MODELS. FORECAST
CONFIDENCE IS ABOUT AVERAGE OUT TO THURS THEN DROPS TO BELOW
AVERAGE AFTER THAT.

.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 9 PM AKST THIS EVENING FOR AKZ021-
     024.
         WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT AKST TONIGHT FOR AKZ025.
         STRONG WIND UNTIL 3 PM AKST THIS AFTERNOON FOR AKZ018-019.
MARINE...GALE WARNING FOR PKZ012.
         SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ011-013-021-022-033>036-041>043-052.
         SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY DUE TO SEAS FOR PKZ051.

&&

RWT/EAL

The office that day

Everything else NWS Juneau, AK issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 29, 4:00 PM AKSTGale WarningAJK60 min
Jan 29, 4:00 PM AKSTSmall Craft AdvisoryAJK24 hr
Jan 29, 4:00 PM AKSTSmall Craft AdvisoryAJK24 hr
Jan 30, 4:59 AM AKSTWinter Storm WatchAJK10 hr

Nearby

Winter Storm Warnings in Alaska, 2012Every winter storm warning in 2012

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text.