Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 11, 2005

Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 11, 2005
Start: 2005-02-11T01:00
End: 2005-02-11T22:00
Location: Alaska

February 11, 2005 · NWS AJK · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Heavy snow occurred in both the Misty Fjords and Central Panhandle regions. Petersburg and Wrangell both received 8 inches of snowfall.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

Heavy snow occurred in both the Misty Fjords and Central Panhandle regions. Petersburg and Wrangell both received 8 inches of snowfall. Coffman Cove on northeast Prince of Wales Island measured 11". Hyder received 21 inches in 24 hours time.

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 Feb 10, 11:00 AM AST, 14 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 10, 11:00 AM AST, 14 hours before

SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1100 AM AST THU FEB 10 2005

.SYNOPSIS...
.SHORT RANGE...979 MB LOW IN PWS FILLING THROUGH TONIGHT. PART OF
ENERGY MOVING INTO AK INTERIOR WITH RESIDUAL LOW PERSISTING IN
NORTHERN GULF. BAROCLINIC ZONE STATIONARY ACROSS FAR SOUTHERN
SOUTHEAST ALASKA TODAY THEN PUSHING JUST A BIT TO THE NORTH
TONIGHT AS NEXT AS NEXT WAVE ON FRONT APPROACHES. THIS FRONT THEN
SLIDES SLOWLY TO SE AS LOW CUTS JUST SOUTH OF CHARLOTTES
SATURDAY. SURFACE HIGH BUILDS INTO SE INTERIOR SATURDAY NIGHT.

RAIN CONTINUING ACROSS FAR SOUTHERN PANHANDLE TODAY UNDER
STATIONARY BOUNDARY WITH SNOW CONTINUING FOR INLAND AREAS OF
MISTY FIORDS WHERE AN ADDITIONAL 6 INCHES POSSIBLE BY 4 PM. WILL
NEED A SNOW WARNING FOR AREA TONIGHT WITH AN ADDITIONAL 12 INCHES
POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT. HEAVIER RAINS SPREAD INTO SOUTHERN AREA LATE
TONIGHT. SURFACE WINDS BACK TO NE THEN N BY EARLY FRIDAY. WET
BULB TEMPS DO DROP BELOW ZERO  AT PAKT BUT FALLS TO AROUND 500
FEET AND WILL HAVE RAIN MIXING WITH SNOW LATE WITH A FEW INCHES
OF WET SNOW POSSIBLE DOWN TO SEA LEVEL. STRONGER CAA AND LOWER
THICKNESS ARRIVE FROM NW ON SAT MORNING WHEN PRECIP GOES TO ALL
SNOW SHOWERS BUT IS LIGHTER.

TROUGH TO MOVE THROUGH NORTHERN HALF THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING
WHICH SHOULD ALLOW PRECIP TO CHANGE OVER TO SNOW SHOWERS. OVERALL
PRECIP AMOUNTS QUARTER INCH OR LESS AND WILL KEEP 1 TO LOCALLY 3
INCHES SNOW IN FORECAST TONIGHT. BOTH NAM AND GFS SUGGEST ONLY
ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS THROUGH CENTRAL AND NORTHERN INNER
CHANNELS SATURDAY SO AMOUNTS STILL RELATIVELY LIGHT UNDER MOSTLY
CLOUDY SKIES. PAYA WILL BE CLEARING SAT NIGHT WITH LOW TEMPS INTO
TEENS WHILE CLOUD COVER WILL KEEPS TEMPS IN UPPER 20S SATURDAY
NIGHT.

.LONG RANGE...BY SAT MRNG XCPT AN UPR LOW OVR YKN TRTY W/ A TROF
XTNDG SEWD ACRS SE AK.  THIS UPR TROF WL ROT INLD AND A SCND TROF
WL ROT ACRS THE GLF AK AND OVR SE AK THRU SAT EVENG/NGT.  THERE
IS A SGFNT VORT ASSOCD W/ THIS TROF THAT WL INCR THE CHCS OF
SHWRS SUN AFTN/NGT ALTHO AT THE SAME TIME THERE WL BE AN INCRG
NELY OUTFLOW OVR THE ERN GLF CST AND NRN INNR CHNLS OF SE AK.
THERE WL BE A SFC TROF ACRS THE SRN PHNDL THAT WL XTND NWWD ACRS
THE GLF AND BOTH THE GFS AND THE ECMF SGSTG A CLSD LOW OVR THE
SRN PHNDL.  THESE TWO MDLS ARE ALSO SHWG THE VORT CNTR MOVG OVR
THE SRN PHNDL...SO WL XPCT A BETTER CHC OF SHWRS OVR SRN PHNDL
SAT EVENG/NGT.  MOST OF THE SHWRS SHLD BE SNOW DUE TO CD AIR FM
THE INTR ALTHO THE OTR CST AND SPCLY SRN PHNDL WL PROB BE MXD
RA/SNW.

BHND THE LAST TROF WL BE A L/W UPR RDG THAT WL PUSH NWD ACRS
CNTRL AK AS IT DRFTS EWD.  A SFC HI WL DVLP OVR CNTRL AK AND PUSH
SEWD ACRS YKN TRTY THRU SUN MRNG.  THIS WL PUT ALL OF SE AK AND
THE ERN GLF CST IN NELY FLOW AT LWR LVLS BY SUN EVENG AS THE
TROF XTNDG ACRS THE SRN PHNDL MOVS SEWD OVR DXN ENT.

ALSO AN EMBDD S/W UPR TROF WL TRY TO RIDE UP THE BACK SD OF THE
UPR RDG.  THE GFS AND UKMET SHOW THAT THIS S/W UPR TROF WL MOV
OVR THE RDG AND DSIPT OVR SE AK ARND 12Z MON.  THERE WL ALSO BE
A WK SFC LOW THAT WL MOV OVR THE NWRN GLF AK SUN AFTN.  THE
ASSOCD FNTL SYS WL PUSH ACRS THE GLF AK AND PROB WKNG OVR THE ERN
GLF CST AND PSBLY OFSHR SE AK THRU 18Z MON.  THE FLOW SHLD BCM
MORE SLY ALNG THE ERN GLF CST AND XPCT SOME PCPN ASSOCD W/ THIS
FNTL SYS SUN EVENG/NGT.  THE FNTL SYS WL PROB WKN OFSHR OF SE AK
AND W/ THE SFC HI STILL OVR SRN YKN TRTY...GENLY DO NOT XPCT MUCH
PCPN OVR SE AK BUT THERE THERE COULD BE SOME ALNG THE OTR CST.

THE UPR RDG IS AHD OF A STG ACTV UPR LOW OVR THE BERING SEA.
THERE WL ACTUALLY BE SVRL VORT CNTRS THAT WL CONDENSE INTO ONE
DVLPG UPR VORT CNTR OVR THE N PAC S OF THE ALEUTAIN CHAIN SUN AND
MOV NWD ALNG THE W CST OF AK.  THIS WL BLD THE UPR RDG ACRS THE
GLF AK AND INTR AK BUT PUSH IT EWD W/ AXIS OVR SE AK BY 12Z TUE.
THE ASSOCD SFC LOW WL MOV INVOF THE BERING STS THRU 12Z TUE.  BUT
THE ASSOCD FNLT SYS WL PUSH ACRS THE GLF AK AND SPRD PCPN TO THE
ERN GLF CST MON EVENG.  THE FNTL SYS WL PUSH ON EWD OVR MOST OF
SE AK THRU TUE.

AFTWD THERE WL BE SVRL SGFNT LOWS MOVG NWD ACRS THE WRN GLF AK
AND AK PEN THAT WL SPRD MORE AND MORE WRM MOIST AIR OVR THE ERN
GLF CST AND SE AK.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...WSW 29 THRU FRI MRNG
MARINE...GALE 310 SMCR 41-52

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Misty Fjords

When: February 11, 1:00 AM AST to 4:00 PM AST
Where: Misty Fjords forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island to Etolin Island

When: February 11, 10:00 AM AST to 10:00 PM AST
Where: Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island to Etolin Island forecast zone
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 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, February 2005

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: 5437577, 5437576.