Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 2, 2005

Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 2, 2005
Start: 2005-02-02T07:00
End: 2005-02-02T15:00
Location: Alaska

February 2, 2005 · NWS AJK · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Heavy snow occurred in many locations throughout Southeast Alaska on this date. Some snowfall totals included: Yakutat 11 inches, Annex Creek and Canyon Island 8 inches, Gustavus 7", Hoonah and Pelican 6", and Juneau with 3-6 inches.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

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 2, 6:30 AM AST, 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 2, 6:30 AM AST, 30 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
630 AM AST WED FEB 2 2005

.SHORT RANGE...POSITIVELY TILTED UPPER TROF EXTENDS FROM NW
CANADA INTO THE N GULF...AND WILL REMAIN THERE INTO TONIGHT.
UPPER LOW FORMING OVER N GULF AS POTENT VORT DIGGING INTO THAT
AREA ATTM. THIS LOW/VORT WILL KEEP ONSHORE FLOW GOING OVER THE
AREA INTO TONIGHT. VORT WILL SWING NE ACROSS THE N PANHANDLE
TONIGHT. ARCTIC FRONT OVER THE FAR N-CENTRAL AREA WILL REMAIN
THERE THRU THIS EVENING...THEN PUSH A BIT TO THE S TONIGHT...BUT
SHOULD REMAIN N OF THE PAPG/PAWG AREAS THROUGH LATE TONIGHT.

HAVE DECIDED TO KEEP HEAVY SNOW WARNING GOING FOR THE N-CENTRAL
ZONES AND PAYA AREA. SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE IN THESE AREAS
DURING THAT TIME...ENHANCED BY THE VORT SWINGING NE. ALSO...SOME
ENHANCED CONVERGENCE/OVERRUNNING ALONG ARCTIC FRONT WILL KEEP A
MORE PERSISTENT SNOW GOING OVER THE N INNER CHANNEL AREAS THRU
MUCH OF TONIGHT.

DECIDED TO KEEP SNOW ADVY GOING OVER PASI/ANGOON ZONES AS WELL.
THERE...SNOW SHOWERS WILL BE FREQUENT AS WELL...BUT SOME MIX WITH
RAIN AT TIMES WILL KEEP ACCUMS DOWN TO ADVY LEVELS AT THE LOWER
ELEVATIONS.

DECIDED TO CANCEL HEAVY SNOW WARNING FOR PAPG ZONE. MAIN ISSUE
THERE IS TEMPS WILL BE TOO WARM TO GET CONSISTENT SNOW...AND
SHOWERS WILL BE A BIT LESS INTENSE THERE. MAY SEE SOME ACCUMS
TONIGHT AS COOLER AIR ALOFT MOVES IN...BUT AGAIN BETTER LIFT
STILL N OF THEM.

ELSEWHERE...NO MAJOR WEATHER PROBLEMS ANTICIPATED THROUGH
TONIGHT. WILL BE SOME LIGHT SNOW OVER THE FAR N WITH 2 TO 6
INCHES OF SNOWFALL IN THE 24 HOUR PERIOD. THE FAR SOUTH WILL SEE
RAIN SHOWERS THROUGH TONIGHT...ALTHOUGH THE HYDER AREA WILL
LIKELY SEE MORE SNOW...BUT NOT EXPECTING MORE THAN 4 INCHES THERE
THROUGH TONIGHT. WINDS WILL PICK UP SOME TONIGHT OVER THE N...BUT
THINK IT WILL REMAIN BELOW ADVY LEVELS...SO THE WIND ADVYS THERE
WERE DROPPED AS WELL. ALL IN ALL...ANOTHER BUSY NIGHT AT OLE WFO
PAJK.

.LONG RANGE...MODELS GENERALLY AGREE ON THE EXTENT AND TIMING OF
COLD AIR MOVING SOUTH AND INFLUX OF GULF MOISTURE.

A 995 MB LOW JUST SOUTHEAST OF CAPE SUCKLING WILL WEAKEN TO 1012
MB BY THU AFTERNOON AND REMAIN RELATIVELY STATIONARY. THIS WILL
CONTINUE TO PUSH GULF MOISTURE INTO AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT THAT
WILL SAG SLOWLY SOUTH THROUGH THE YAKUTAT AREA AND THE CENTRAL
PANHANDLE BY SAT MORNING.

ON THE GFS...A SECOND 1010 MB LOW WILL MOVE NORTHEAST TO NEAR
CAPE DECISION THURSDAY EVENING BRINGING MORE MOISTURE TO THE
AREA. AS THIS MOVES EAST IT WILL DRAG A POLAR COLD FRONT ACROSS
THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE FRI WHICH BRINGS -10C 850 MB TEMPS ALL THE
WAY SOUTH THROUGH THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE BY FRI AFTERNOON.

FINALLY THE LOW FROM NEAR CAPE SUCKLING WILL MOVE THROUGH THE
SOUTHERN PANHANDLE AND SOUTHEAST OF THE AREA BY LATE FRI NIGHT.
THEN COLD DRY OFFSHORE FLOW WILL SETTLE OVER THE AREA SAT THROUGH
SAT NIGHT. ON SUN ANOTHER MOIST WARM FRONT WILL BEGIN TO MOVE
INTO THE YAKUTAT AREA.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...HEAVY SNOW WARNING...ZONES 17..20>22..25
      ...SNOW ADVISORY...ZONES 23 AND 24

MARINE...SCA...PKZ011-012-021-022-031-033-035-041>043-051-052

RWT/LN

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Eastern Chichagof Island

When: February 2, 7:00 AM AST to 2:00 PM AST
Where: Eastern Chichagof Island forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Cape Fairweather to Cape Suckling Coastal Area

When: February 2, 8:00 AM AST to 3:00 PM AST
Where: Cape Fairweather to Cape Suckling Coastal Area forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heavy Snow, Juneau Borough and Northern Admiralty Island

When: February 2, 9:00 AM AST to 3:00 PM AST
Where: Juneau Borough and Northern Admiralty Island forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heavy Snow, Salisbury Sound to Cape Fairweather Coastal Area

When: February 2, 11:00 AM AST to 3:00 PM AST
Where: Salisbury Sound to Cape Fairweather Coastal Area forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Glacier Bay

When: February 2, 12:00 PM AST to 3:00 PM AST
Where: Glacier Bay 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: 5437573, 5437571, 5437575, 5437574, 5437572.