Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 24 to 27, 2003

Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 24 to 27, 2003
Start: 2003-01-24T09:00
End: 2003-01-27T03:00
Location: Alaska

January 24 to 27, 2003 · NWS AJK · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $90,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 AJK wrote it up.

An overrunning heavy snow event developed in the interior of the Panhandle from Friday January 24 through Monday morning January 27. With an arctic airmass in place at low levels, a moist south-southwest flow developed off the Pacific. The snowfall was fairly steady during this three day period, though a few embedded upper levels waves would occasionally increase intensity. Some snowfall amounts included Hyder with a 3 day total of 35 inches, Petersburg with up to 20 inches, and the Mendenhall Valley in the Juneau area with 14-28 inches. The Eaglecrest ski resort, downtown Juneau and Douglas, did not receive as much snow with amounts varying from 8-16 inches. This was partly due to the Taku winds blowing the snow around so much.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Jan 24, 2:45 AM AST, 6 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 24, 2:45 AM AST, 6 hours 15 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
245 AM AST FRI JAN 24 2003

.SYNOPSIS...
.SHORT RANGE...LATEST GOES IR SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS BROAD BAND
OF CLDS ASSOC WITH A SML LOW MOVG NWD TWD THE SRN OUTER CST OF
BARANOF ISLAND CVRG CNTRL AND SRN SE AK. NORTH OF THIS SYS...A
NARROW BAND OF CLOUDS EXTD FM JUST N OF PAJN WWD TO THE ERN
GLFALSK. CLUSTER OF MID LVL CLDS ASSOC WITH AN INVERTED TROF ALF
CVR THE ERN GLF CST. SNOW CONTS TO FALL OVR CNTRL SE AK S OF
FREDERICK SOUND. RAIN IS OCCURRING OVR SRN SE AK. BAND OF VERY
LIGHT SNOW WAS RECENTLY RPTD OVR HAINES.

ETA MODEL MSTR AT 700 MB COUPLED WITH THE OMEGA FIELDS BEST
DELINIATE THE PLACEMENT AND MAGNITUDE OF THE PCPN FIELDS BOTH
PRESENT AND FCST FOR DURG THE DAY FRI.

LOW PRES ALG THE OUTER CST OF SE AK S OF BARANOF ISLAND WL DRFT
NW TO NEAR CAPE FAIRWEATHER BY FRI AFTN. ASSOC FNTL BNDRY NOW OVR
SRN SE AK WL DRFT NWD TO A PSN JUST S OF PAJN BY LATE IN THE DAY
FRI. STG 1045 MB HI OVR NW CANADA WL REMAIN IN PLACE THRU FRI.

THEREFORE...STG NE-SW PRES GRAD WL PRST FM THE ERN GLF CST TO
MUCH OF THE SE AK PNHDL. WL CONT THE HI WND WARNINGS OVR NRN SE
AK AND OVR DOWNTOWN JUNEAU AND DOUGLAS...AND THE WIND ADVISORIES
OVR GLACIER BAY...ERN GLF CST...CNTRL AND NRN OUTER CSTS OF SE AK
THRU THE DAY FRI. WIND ADVISORY OVR THE MISTY FJORDS RGN OF SRN
SE AK WL CONT THRU FRI MRNG AND WL PROBABLY BE TAKEN DOWN FRI
AFTN AS A SFC TROF BCMS THE MORE PROMINENT FEATURE OVR SRN SE AK.

WL CONSIDER ISSUING A SNOW ADVISORY FOR UP TO 5 INCHES OVR CNTRL
INNER CHNLS OF SE AK S OF FREDERICK SOUND AND MISTY FJORDS RGN OF
SRN SE AK...SNOW SPRDG NWD WITH LESSER AMTS UP TO 3 INCHES OVR
THE RMNDR OF CNTRL SE AK FRI. RAIN WL CONT OVR RMNDR OF SRN SE AK
AND CNTRL AND SRN OUTER COASTAL SE AK. CHC OF LIGHT SNOW LATE IN
THE DAY FRI FOR NRN LYNN CANAL. ERN GLF CST WL CONT DRY THRU FRI.

.LONG RANGE...VERY INTERESTING SCENARIO SETTING UP FOR THE NRN
AND CENTRAL PANHANDLE AND MISTY FJORDS AREAS TONIGHT THROUGH SAT
NIGHT. SPLIT FLOW PERSISTS OVER THE AREA...WITH CONFLUENCE ZONE
OVER THE SOUTHERN YUKON. THIS IS SUPPORTING HIGH PRES THERE...AND
WILL REMAIN THERE INTO SAT NIGHT AT LEAST. INCREASINGLY ACTIVE
SRN STREAM MOVING INTO THE AREA ATTM...AND SEVERAL SYSTEMS WILL
BE MOVING ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT INTO SAT NIGHT. ARCTIC AIR IS
WELL ENTRENCHED OVER THE NRN AND CENTRAL AREAS AS WELL AS THE
MISTY FJORDS AREA...AND WILL BE TOUGH TO DISLODGE GIVEN HIGH PRES
REMAINING N OF THE AREA SUPPLYING FRESH COLD AIR. OVERRUNNING SSW
FLOW WILL BE INCREASING IN THE 850-700 MB LAYER TONIGHT AND
PERSIST INTO SAT NIGHT...WITH STRONG 850 MB FRONTOGENETIC
FORCING ACROSS THE CENTRAL AREA TONIGHT AND SAT...AND THE NORTH
SAT.

THIS SETUP WILL LEAD TO A SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IN THESE AREAS.
VARIOUS SNOWFALL TECHNIQUES SUPPORT HEAVY SNOW FROM AT LEAST 06Z
TONIGHT THROUGH 12Z SAT NIGHT. LOOKS LIKE HEAVY SNOW IS LIKELY
FOR ZONE 26 TONIGHT AND SAT...21/25/29 FOR TONIGHT THROUGH SAT
NIGHT...AND 24 FOR SAT/SAT NIGHT. WILL THEREFORE POST WINTER
STORM WATCHES FOR THESE AREAS AND TIMES IN THE NEW FORECAST
PACKAGE. LOOKING LIKE TOTAL SNOWFALL IN MANY PLACES WILL BE WELL
OVER A FOOT.

FURTHER S/SW...SHOULD BE MAINLY RAIN. AVN HAS HAD SOME TROUBLE
WITH TRACK OF SFC LOW EXPECTED TO MOVE TOWARD THE ERN GULF SAT
NGT OR SUN. 00Z AVN ENSEMBLE MEAN AND 00Z AVN OP RUN ARE IN GOOD
AGREEMENT THAT THE LOW WILL MOVE NE TO JUST S PASI...THEN WEAKENS
AND JUMPS EAST ACROSS CENTRAL SE AK AS UPPER TROF SPLITS
APPROACHING THE CONFLUENCE ZONE. WILL GO WITH THIS SOLUTION FOR
THIS PACKAGE. SNOW SHOULD CONTINUE OVER THE NRN AREAS SUN...WITH
RAIN OVER THE SOUTH...EXCEPT FOR MISTY FJORDS...WHERE IT SHOULD
REMAIN SNOW OVER THE NORTHEAST AND A MIX OVER THE SW. THE PAYA
AREA WILL BE LEFT OUT OF THE DECENT PRECIP FOR THE MOST
PART...WITH LIGHT AMOUNTS HERE AND THERE INTO SUN. WILL STICK
WITH PTYPE FORECAST THERE AS WELL...WITH SNOW UNTIL SUN...WHEN
SOME RAIN MAY MIX IN.

FOR THE MON-THU PERIOD...MODELS AGREE THAT SPLIT FLOW WILL MERGE
WITH RIDGE TO EAST OF AREA JOINING RIDGE TO THE NW OF THE AREA BY
MIDWEEK. THIS WOULD ALLOW THIS AREA TO WARM UP SOME AS HIGH PRES
MOVES SLOWLY TO THE EAST. ATTM...CURRENT EXTENDED HAS THIS IN
MIND SO WILL STICK WITH IT.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...HIGH WND WARNING CONTINUED...ZONES 24..25
      ...WIND ADVISORIES...ZONES 21..22..23..29
      ...WINTER STORM WATCH TONIGHT/SAT FOR ZONE 26
      ...WINTER STORM WATCH TONIGHT THRU SAT NIGHT ZONES 21/25/29
      ...WINTER STORM WATCH SAT AND SAT NIGHT ZONE 24

MARINE...GALE...
           AREA 1A1
           AREA 1A2
           AREA 1A3-STEPHENS PASSAGE-CHATHAM STRAIT-
                    FREDERICK SOUND
           AREA 1B-CAPE DECISION TO CAPE FAIRWEATHER
      ...SCA...
           AREA 1A3-SUMNER STRAIT-CLARENCE STRAITS
           AREA 1B-DIXON ENTRANCE TO CAPE DECISION

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island to Etolin Island

When: January 24, 9:00 AM AST to January 27, 1:00 AM AST
Where: Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island to Etolin Island forecast zone
Property damage: $30,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Heavy Snow, Juneau Borough-Eastern Chichagof-Admiralty Island

When: January 24, 10:00 AM AST to January 27, 3:00 AM AST
Where: Juneau Borough-Eastern Chichagof-Admiralty Island forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

Heavy Snow, Misty Fjords

When: January 24, 11:00 AM AST to January 26, 8:00 PM AST
Where: Misty Fjords forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: NWS STORM SURVEY

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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, January 2003

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: 5341226, 5341225, 5341227.