Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 17 to 18, 2000

Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 17 to 18, 2000
Start: 2000-12-17T16:00
End: 2000-12-18T04:00
Location: Alaska

December 17 to 18, 2000 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths: 2
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When: December 17, 4:00 PM AST to December 18, 4:00 AM AST
Where: Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Deaths: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)

Snow was caused by a cold front aloft, moving across low level arctic air. This event was preceded by an upper elevation/Turnagain Arm wind advisory.This was the second significant snow of 2000 - 2001 winter season. 3- 5 inches reported around Anchorage town, 8 to 12 inches along the upper Anchorage Hillsides and Eagle River. Duration of snow less than 12 hours. The first seasonal snow was in October. All of the October snow melted by early November and road surfaces had been clear of snow and ice for over a month.Reports of 8+ inches of snow in 12 hours or less were received at 11:30 p.m. Sunday, 12/17/00, along and adjacent to the hillside. Snowfall became light with little additional accumulation by before midnight. Snowfall ended early Monday.Dozens of collisions were reported in and around Anchorage. Estimated dollar amount $50 K.Slick roads were responsible for 2 deaths (22 year old woman and 7 month old infant).

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Heavy Snow, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek	2000-12-18	22	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Heavy Snow, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek	2000-12-18	1		Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2000 Every state in 2000 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, December 2000

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5160459.