Blizzard and Winter Storm in Alaska, January 19 to 20, 2005

Name: Blizzard and Winter Storm in Alaska, January 19 to 20, 2005
Start: 2005-01-19T02:00
End: 2005-01-20T06:00
Location: Alaska

January 19 to 20, 2005 · NWS AJK · 2 events in 1 county or zone

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.

Blizzard conditions developed on the higher elevations of the Klondike Highway north of Skagway. The Highway was forced to close early Wednesday due to white out conditions in blowing snow and light falling snow. Northerly winds to 30 mph with frequent gusts 35 to 45 mph were reported over White Pass (3116' ASL). Winds slacked off a little by Thursday, but heavier snowfall (advisory level) and blowing snow continued to cause winter storm conditions over the Pass. The Alaska DOT finally reopened the Klondike Highway Thursday evening.

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 18, 12:15 PM AST, 13 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 18, 12:15 PM AST, 13 hours 45 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1215 PM AST TUE JAN 18 2005

.SHORT RANGE...COLD INTERIOR AIR MIXING WITH WARM MOIST GULF
FRONTS CONTINUES TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ACROSS THE
PANHANDLE. SNOW WILL CONTINUE IN THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE WITH
ANOTHER FOOT EXPECTED IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS. SO FAR SNETTISHAM
POWER STATION HAS THE HIGHEST 48 HOUR SNOWFALL TOTAL WITH 31
INCHES. SEVERAL OTHER STATIONS IN THE JUNEAU AND TAKU INLET AREAS
ALSO HAVE STORM TOTALS OVER 2 FEET.

THE STRONG HIGH OVER THE YUKON TERRITORY IS PRODUCE STRONG NORTH
WINDS AND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS IN THE WHITE PASS AND SKAGWAY
AREA...AS WELL AS GALES AND HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY IN LYNN CANAL.
THESE STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH WED MORNING AND THEN
DIMINISH THROUGH THE DAY.

COLD AIR DRAINING FROM THE INTERIOR THROUGH THE STIKINE RIVER
VALLEY AND IN THE HYDER AREA IS PRODUCING SIGNIFICANT FREEZING
RAIN AS WARM MOIST AIR OVERRUNS THE PANHANDLE. ADDITIONAL ICE
ACCUMULATIONS OF AROUND 1/4 OF AN INCH ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE
DAY.

.LONG RANGE...THE COLD UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE YUKON TERRITORY
WILL GRADUALLY WEAKEN THEN AND SHIFT EAST WED NIGHT AND THU. A
RIDGE ALOFT WILL BUILD OVER THE PANHANDLE AND WESTERN CANADA THU
AND FRI. AS THE RIDGE ALOFT BUILDS IT WILL PUSH THE PERSISTENT
ARCTIC SURFACE HIGH FROM NORTHWEST CANADA OFF TO THE EAST CUTTING
OFF OUR SUPPLY OF COLD AIR WED NIGHT OR THU. WITH THE ENDING OF
THE OFFSHORE FLOW...THERE WILL BE NO SOURCE FROM WHICH TO
REPLENISH THE COLD AIR IN NORTHERN PANHANDLE. THIS WILL MAKE IT
EASIER FOR THE SERIES OF FRONTS MOVING OVER THE PANHANDLE TO WARM
THE AREA. BY THURSDAY ALL BUT THE HAINES AND SKAGWAY AREA WILL
HAVE SWITCHED TO EITHER RAIN OR MIXED RAIN AND SNOW. IN THE
JUNEAU AREA SNOW LEVELS WILL INCREASE TO AROUND 500 FEET ON THU
AND TO 1500 FEET ON FRI.

A MULTICENTER VERTICALLY STACKED LOW IN THE NORTH PACIFIC WILL
MOVE INTO THE GULF FRIDAY. THE ASSOCIATED SURFACE FRONT WILL MOVE
EASTERN GULF EARLY FRIDAY MORNING AND OVER THE PANHANDLE BY
FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THE SECOND WRAP OF THE FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE
SOUTHERN PANHANDLE SATURDAY MORNING AND THEN CONTINUE NORTH
THROUGH THE DAY. SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT IN EXPECTED TO CONTINUE
THROUGH NEXT WEEK WITH MORE FRONTS MOVING ONSHORE. PRECIPITATION
AT SEA LEVEL WILL MAINLY BE RAIN WITH SNOW LEVELS BETWEEN 1000
AND 1500 FEET.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...HEAVY SNOW WARNING ZONE 17 19 20 21 22 24 25
         BLIZZARD WARNING ZONE 18
         WIND ADVISORY ZONE 22
         WINTER STORM WARNING FOR FREEZING RAIN ZONE 26 AND 29
MARINE...SCA AREA 31 41 42
         GALES AREA 11 12 13 21 22 32 33 34 35 36 43 51 52
         HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY AREA 11 12 13 21

JER

Event by event

1 blizzard, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway

When: January 19, 2:00 AM AST to 6:00 AM AST
Where: Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Winter Storm, Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway

When: January 19, 6:00 AM AST to January 20, 6:00 AM AST
Where: Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

What these are

Blizzard: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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, January 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: 5437218, 5437276.