Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 12 to 13, 2003

Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 12 to 13, 2003
Start: 2003-03-12T23:00
End: 2003-03-13T22:00
Location: Alaska

March 12 to 13, 2003 · NWS AJK · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $42,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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.

Severe weather impacted the citizens of Southeast Alaska the second week of March 2003. After several days with an arctic airmass in place, late Wednesday March 12 into Friday March 14, a heavy overrunning snow storm developed across the Panhandle. Thanks in part to timely and effective winter storm warnings, minimal damage and no injuries nor deaths resulted from this storm. Here is a brief listing of some the warning level snowfall amounts (all occurred in a period of 24 hours or less) that were reported: Pelican 15", Port Alexander 12", Skagway 8", Haines 18", WFO Juneau 15", Juneau airport 14", Montana Creek 22", Downtown Juneau and Douglas 12-15", Eagle Crest Ski Resort 18-24", Petersburg 14", Ketchikan 6", 12 miles north of Ketchikan 12", and Hyder with 18".

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 Mar 12, 9:45 PM AST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 12, 9:45 PM AST, 1 hour 15 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
945 PM AST WED MAR 12 2003

.SHORT RANGE...THE OUTFLOW OF THE DEEP ARCTIC AIRMASS CONTINUES
TO PERSIST FOR PANHANDLE NORTHEAST OF A CAPE DECISION TO WRANGELL
LINE THROUGH 6AM. THE OUTFLOW HAS BEEN INCREASED BY THE APPROACH
OF A NORTH PACIFIC OCCLUSION WITH A 955 MB LOW 200 NM SW OF
KETCHIKAN. THE ASSOCIATED STRONG LOW PRESSURE AREA WILL MOVE
NORTHEAST TOWARD SOUTHERN SOUTHEAST ALASKA...WHILE THE HIGH
PRESSURE REMAINS OVER THE YUKON. THE STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT
BETWEEN THE SYSTEMS WILL ENHANCE THE VERY STRONG WINDS OVER
NORTHERN SOUTHEAST ALASKA.

.LONG RANGE...THE PROJECTED TRACK OF THE LOW IN THE EASTERN GULF
HAS CHANGED VERY SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE YESTERDAY. INSTEAD OF
TRACKING ACROSS DIXON ENTRANCE AND INTO TO THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE
THE LOW NOW LOOKS LIKE IT WILL COME ONSHORE ACROSS BARANOF ISLAND
THURSDAY MORNING. THIS CHANGE WILL SPREAD SNOW SIGNIFICANTLY
FARTHER NORTH IN THE PANHANDLE AND BRING IT EARLIER. HEAVY SNOW
WATCHES, WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES ARE OUT FOR A VARIETY OF AREAS
AND STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN
SOME LOCATIONS. WARMER AIR IS MOVING INTO THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE
AND THIS WILL TURN THE SNOW TO RAIN IN MOST LOCATIONS BY TOMORROW
MORNING. HYDER WILL LIKELY BE THE HOLD OUT WITH A GOOD SUPPLY OF
COLD AIR IN PLACE AND SHOULD STAY SNOW. TO THE NORTH OF THE LOW
ALL THE PRECIPITATION WILL REMAIN SNOW. THE LOW IS FORECAST TO
MOVE EAST ACROSS FREDRICK SOUND THURSDAY AND THEN ACROSS THE
MOUNTAINS INTO CANADA THURSDAY EVENING. AS THE LOW MOVES THROUGH
RAIN IN THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE AND SNOW IN THE NORTH WILL SWITCH
OVER TO SHOWERS AND THEN TAPER OFF THURSDAY NIGHT. WINDS WILL
ALSO DIMINISH AS THE LOW MOVES INLAND.

FROM FRIDAY THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK THE CURRENT FORECAST STILL
LOOKS GOOD. A DEEP LOW WILL BECOME VERTICALLY STACK IN THE GULF
OF ALASKA AND REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY. SHORTWAVE TROUGHS WILL
ROTATE AROUND AND BRING A SERIES OF FRONTS THROUGH THE PANHANDLE
CAUSING A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...BY ZONE NUMBERS. 21 WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT...SNOW
ADVISORY TONIGHT...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THURSDAY. 22 WIND
ADVISORY. 23 WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT AND SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT AND
THURSDAY MORNING. 24 HIGH WIND WARNING TONIGHT AND WIND CHILL
ADVISORY ABOVE 1000 FEET TONIGHT. 25 HIGH WIND WARNING TONIGHT
AND SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT...WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THURSDAY. 26
WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT. 27 HEAVY SNOW WARNING ENDING FROM
SOUTH. 28 SNOW ADVISORY ENDING FROM SOUTH. 29 HEAVY SNOW WARNING
TONIGHT.
MARINE...NOTE AMD TO MARINE...STORMS 1B AND 1A2 (CROSS SOUND).
GALES REMAINDER 1A AND ALL 2A.

JT/JER

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Cape Decision to Cape Fairweather-Coastal Area

When: March 12, 11:00 PM AST to March 13, 6:00 AM AST
Where: Cape Decision to Cape Fairweather-Coastal Area forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Southern Southeast Alaska Ernest Sound to Dixon Entrance

When: March 13, 12:00 AM AST to 2:00 AM AST
Where: Southern Southeast Alaska Ernest Sound to Dixon Entrance forecast zone
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island to Etolin Island

When: March 13, 2:00 AM AST to 4:00 AM AST
Where: Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island to Etolin Island forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Misty Fjords

When: March 13, 6:00 AM AST to 2:30 PM AST
Where: Misty Fjords forecast zone
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Juneau Borough-Eastern Chichagof-Admiralty Island

When: March 13, 12:00 PM AST to 10:00 PM AST
Where: Juneau Borough-Eastern Chichagof-Admiralty Island forecast zone
Property damage: $15,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heavy Snow, Northern Lynn Canal

When: March 13, 2:00 PM AST to 10:00 PM AST
Where: Northern Lynn Canal forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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, March 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: 5345445, 5345449, 5345448, 5345806, 5345447, 5345446.