Winter Storm, Matanuska Valley
- When
- December 20, 12:00 PM AST to 3:00 PM AST
- Where
- Matanuska Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Winter Storm in Alaska, December 20, 2001
Pre-frontal, arctic air overrunning, brought briefly heavy snows to portions of the Matanuska Valley. Although the event appears to have lasted only 3 hours at the Palmer ASOS, blizzard conditions were met and likely existed in other areas of the zone.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- 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.
What happened
The episode as NWS AFC wrote it up.
Pre-frontal, arctic air overrunning, brought briefly heavy snows to portions of the Matanuska Valley. Although the event appears to have lasted only 3 hours at the Palmer ASOS, blizzard conditions were met and likely existed in other areas of the zone. Event maxima...At Palmer ASOS, 1/4 mile heavy snow (likely blowing snow also) northerly gusts 35 mph between noon and 12:53 pm AST Thursday. Peak wind at the ASOS reached 38 mph several hours later.
Event by event
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado and Hail in California, December 20, 2001
- Heavy Snow in California, December 20, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Maine, December 20 to 21, 2001
- Winter Weather in California, December 20 to 21, 2001
- Strong Wind in West Virginia, December 20, 2001
- Winter Storm and High Wind in Alaska, December 20 to 21, 2001
- Heavy Snow and High Wind in Alaska, December 20, 2001
- Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, December 20 to 21, 2001
- Winter Storm in Maine, December 20 to 21, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, December 20 to 21, 2001
- High Wind in Alaska, December 20, 2001
- High Wind in Virginia, December 20, 2001
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2001
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: 5272068.