Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 13, 2006

Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 13, 2006
Start: 2006-03-13T11:15
End: 2006-03-13T20:00
Location: Alaska

March 13, 2006 · NWS AJK · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $6,000
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.

A weak trough of low pressure over the Dixon Entrance region combined with an upper level trough moving southeast around the upper level low over the eastern Yukon Territory, began a period of overrunning snow over the southeastern portion of the panhandle. Heavier snowfall amounts fell between 5 and 12 hours. The COOP observer in Hyder reported a storm total of 17.3" for the event. Other reports of heavy snow included 7" at a spotter at 17 mile North Ketchikan.

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 13, 6:30 AM AST, 4 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 13, 6:30 AM AST, 4 hours 45 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
630 AM AST MON MAR 13 2006

.SYNOPSIS...
.SHORT RANGE...UPPER TROF OVER THE SRN YUKON IS DIGGING SWD INTO
THE AREA EARLY THIS MORNING...AND WILL BECOME A CLOSED OFF LOW
OVER THE CENTRAL PANHANDLE BY TONIGHT. THE LOW WILL THEN DRIFT
SLIGHTLY SWWD ON TUE. SFC LOW WILL FORM OVER WRN DIXON ENTRANCE
THIS MORNING AND MOVE ENE INTO BC BY EARLY EVENING. HIGH PRESSURE
WILL REMAIN OVER NW CANADA THRU THE PERIOD.

VERY COLD AIR IS NOW MOVING INTO THE NRN HALF OF THE AREA AND
WILL CONTINUE TO DEEPEN OVER THE AREA THRU TONIGHT. FCST 850
TEMPS VARY FROM -25 TO -32C FROM VARIOUS MODELS...WITH 1000-500
THICKNESSES IN THE 492-498 RANGE. THIS LOOKS TO BE THE COLDEST
AIRMASS OF THE WINTER.

BIGGEST CONCERN IS THE LOCALLY STRONG WINDS COMBINED WITH THE
VERY COLD AIR. GIVEN HOW STRONG THE PRESSURE GRADIENTS ARE AND
WILL REMAIN...KEPT WIND ADVYS FOR THE NRN AND CENTRAL ZONES GOING
THRU 6 PM TUE. ONE CONCERN IN THE WIND DEPARTMENT IS THE JUNEAU
LOCAL AREA. THERE IS A CHANCE THAT A MTN WAVE COULD SET UP IN
DOWNTOWN JUNEAU AND DOUGLAS...AND WINDS MIGHT GET TO WARNING
LEVELS ESPECIALLY TONIGHT. ATTM...DECIDED TO KEEP MAX ADVY FOR
THERE...BUT WILL LET NEXT SHIFT KNOW OF THESE CONCERNS. GIVEN LOW
TEMPS OVER THE FAR N...ALSO EXTENDED THE WIND CHILL ADVYS FOR
ZONE 19 AND ZONE 18 ABOVE 1000 FEET. THERE IS A RISK THAT THE
UPPER END OF ZONE 18 COULD GET TO WARNING CRITERIA LATE
TONIGHT...BUT THINK IT WILL FALL JUST SHORT ATTM.

FOR THE SRN AREA...STRONG UVVS ASSOCIATED WITH DIGGING TROF AND
DEVELOPING LOW WILL KEEP PRECIP GOING...ESPECIALLY OVER THE ERN
PART. DECIDED TO ISSUE SNOW ADVY FOR ZONE 29 THRU TODAY FOR
ANOTHER 4 TO 8 INCHES. CZST CAME IN WITH 3 INCHES OF SNOW
OVERNIGHT...SO THE ADDITIONAL SNOW WOULD PUT THAT AREA TO ADVY
LEVEL FOR THE 24 HR PERIOD. FOR ZONE 28...FAR SRN AREA IS RAINING
WITH SSE LOW LEVEL FLOW WARMING THEM TO THE UPPER 30S...BUT AS
LOW MOVES E OF THEM LATER TODAY...FLOW SHOULD TURN N AND CHANGE
PRECIP TO SNOW. WENT FOR 1 TO 3 INCHES THERE. SERN ZONE 26 IS
ALSO SNOWING...BUT THEY SHOULD TAPER OFF BY EARLY AFTERNOON WITH
ONLY UP TO ANOTHER 2 INCHES EXPECTED THERE. THE SNOW SHOULD SHIFT
SLOWLY EWD AND FINALLY BE OUT OF ERN ZONE 29 BY LATE TONIGHT.
COLDER AIR WILL FILTER SWD TONIGHT AND TUE.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...WIND ADVY...ZONES 17>26
      ...WIND CHILL ADVY...ZONES 18 AND 19
      ...SNOW ADVY...ZONE 29
MARINE...GALE...PKZ011>013-022-031>034...042-043-051
      ...HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WRNG...PKZ011>013-031
      ...SCA...ALL REMAINING WATERS

.LONG RANGE...MODELS SHOW A STRONG ARCTIC HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM
COVERING NORTHWEST CANADA...THE EASTERN GULF COAST AND
SOUTHEAST ALASKA WITH GUSTY WINDS AND CLEAR TO PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES
AND COLD TEMPERATURES THROUGH WEDNESDAY GRADUALLY WEAKENING
THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. UPPER LEVEL LOW CENTERED OVER THE INNER
CHANNELS OF SOUTHEAST ALASKA WEDNESDAY  WILL DROP SOUTH INTO THE
SOUTHEAST GULF OF ALASKA DURING WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THROUGH
WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SHORT WAVE TROUGH DEVELOPING ON THE EAST SIDE OF
THE UPPER LOW WEDNESDAY IS FORECAST TO MOVE NORTHEAST TO AFFECT
SOUTHERN SOUTHEAST ALASKA THU...BRINGING IN LIGHT SNOW OR SNOW
FLURRIES. SKIES ELSEWHERE REMAINING PARTLY CLOUDY AND NO
PRECIPITATION.

ON FRIDAY THE UPPER LEVEL LOW IS FORECAST WEAKEN AND LIFT
NORTHEAST OF THE REGION BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. RESULTING NVA
ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE TROUGH AS IT MOVES OUT OF THE REGION
WILL RESULT IN IMPROVING CONDITIONS OVER SOUTHERN SOUTHEAST
ALASKA...CONTINUED PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES OVER THE REMAINDER
OF SOUTHEAST ALASKA AND THE EASTERN GULF COAST FRIDAY.

ON SATURDAY...THE FLOW ALOFT WEAKENS AND BECOMES SOUTHWEST.
THIS WILL BRING INCREASING CLOUDS AND MILDER TEMPERATURES.
LOW PRESSURE MOVING INTO THE WESTERN GULF OF ALASKA WILL
SEND AN OCCLUDED FRONT THROUGH THE EASTERN GULF COAST AND
SOUTHEAST ALASKA SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. CHANCES OF
RAIN AND SNOW SATURDAY BECOMING MORE LIKELY BY SUNDAY.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...WIND ADVY...ZONES 17>26
      ...WIND CHILL ADVY...ZONES 18 AND 19
      ...SNOW ADVY...ZONE 29
MARINE...GALE...PKZ011>013-022-031>034...042-043-051
      ...HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WRNG...PKZ011>013-031
      ...SCA...ALL REMAINING WATERS

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Southern Inner Channels

When: March 13, 11:15 AM AST to 4:20 PM AST
Where: Southern Inner Channels forecast zone
Property damage: $4,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Misty Fjords

When: March 13, 11:15 AM AST to 8:00 PM AST
Where: Misty Fjords forecast zone
Property damage: $2,000
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 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, March 2006

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: 5494818, 5494819.