Heavy Snow in Alaska, May 2 to 4, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, May 2 to 4, 2001
Start: 2001-05-02T18:00
End: 2001-05-04T09:00
Location: Alaska

May 2 to 4, 2001 · NWS AFC · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Snowfall amounts along higher elevations in the Anchorage and Palmer area totaled between 8 and 12 inches for the 48 hour period from Wednesday afternoon through Friday afternoon. While lower elevations experienced noticeably less snowfall, traffic (especially coming into Anchorage from Eagle River and Turnagain Arm) slowed to a crawl during the Thursday morning and Friday morning rush hours.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $180,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

A late season snowstorm developed along and just north of the arctic front, dumping between 12 and 18 inches across portions of the northern Susitna Valley, the Portage and Whittier area and over Turnagain Pass late Wednesday through Friday morning.Snowfall amounts along higher elevations in the Anchorage and Palmer area totaled between 8 and 12 inches for the 48 hour period from Wednesday afternoon through Friday afternoon. While lower elevations experienced noticeably less snowfall, traffic (especially coming into Anchorage from Eagle River and Turnagain Arm) slowed to a crawl during the Thursday morning and Friday morning rush hours. Over 47 accidents were reported Thursday in the Anchorage area. Travel was made especially difficult, as snowfall came after a prolonged dry, mild weather period. Additionally, it had just become illegal to drive with snow tires (May 1).

Event by event

4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Susitna Valley

When: May 2, 6:00 PM AST to May 4, 9:00 AM AST
Where: Susitna Valley forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Heavy Snow, Matanuska Valley

When: May 2, 6:00 PM AST to May 4, 9:00 AM AST
Where: Matanuska Valley forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Heavy Snow, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When: May 2, 6:00 PM AST to May 4, 9:00 AM AST
Where: Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Property damage: $180,000
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Heavy Snow, Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns

When: May 2, 6:00 PM AST to May 4, 9:00 AM AST
Where: Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

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 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, May 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: 5238073, 5238074, 5238075, 5238076.