On the morning of 12/31 a storm was developing well southwest of the Panhandle. Although this system remained nearly stationary, extreme surface pressure gradients developed against arctic high pressure over the Yukon during new year's eve.
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.
The episode as NWS AJK wrote it up.
On the morning of 12/31 a storm was developing well southwest of the Panhandle. Although this system remained nearly stationary, extreme surface pressure gradients developed against arctic high pressure over the Yukon during new year's eve. The storm weakened rapidly later on new year's 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 Dec 31, 7:35 AM AKST, 11 hours 25 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1235 PM AST MON DEC 31 2007
.SYNOPSIS...
.SHORT RANGE...THE MORNING SATELLITE LOOP SHOWS THE DEVELOPING
STORM CENTER JUST ENTERING THE SOUTHERN TIP OF THE CENTRAL GULF
SPREADING EXTENSIVE MID TO HIGH CLOUDS OVER THE SOUTHEAST ALASKA.
BUOY 46650 NEAR THE LOW REPORTED 980 MB AT 10 AM. THUS THE CENTER
PRESSURE SHOULD BE ROUGHLY AROUND 978 MB. A FEW FLURRIES OCCURRED
THIS MORNING AT SKAGWAY AND ANNETTE ISLAND BUT TAPERED OFF AS OF
THIS WRITING. STRONG FRONT WITH THE TRIPLE POINT ABOUT 550 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF THE QUEEN CHARLOTTES IS RAPIDLY MOVING NORTHEAST
HEADING TOWARDS THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE.
MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH EXCELLENT INITIALIZATION. THE
GFS WILL BE SELECTED TO MAINTAIN CONSISTENCY. NO NEED TO MAKE
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FOR THE INHERITED GRIDS FOR THE SHORT TERM
FORECAST PERIODS. WILL MAKE A FEW COSMETIC TOUCHES AND KEEP ALL
THE ONGOING WATCHES AND ADVISORIES AS THEY ARE. THE STORM WILL
CONTINUE TO DEEPEN TO ABOUT 968 MB THROUGH NEW YEARS DAY THEN
SLOWLY FILLS AND DRIFT NORTHEAST TO THE NORTH EASTERN GULF BEYOND
THE SHORT TERM RANGE. DOWNSLOPING WINDS WILL LIMIT THE PCPN
EXCEPT THE SOUTHEASTERN ZONES WHERE PERSISTING COLD AIR LIFTING
THE INCOMING WARM MOISTURE. SNOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TOMORROW
AFTERNOON. WILL KEEP THE HEAVY SNOW WARNING THROUGH 6 PM.
EXPECT THE LEADING EDGE OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY TOUCHING THE
COASTAL AREAS LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE HIGH WIND WARNING FOR
ZONES 23 AND 27 LOOKS REASONABLE THROUGH TOMORROW MORNING. WIND
ADVISORY WILL BEGIN OVER THE SOUTHERN ZONES THIS AFTERNOON THEN
EXPANDING NORTHWARD PROGRESSIVELY THROUGH TOMORROW MORNING.
STORM FORCE WINDS WILL CONTINUE OVER THE OFFSHORE AND MOST OF
OUTSIDE WATERS THROUGH TONIGHT THEN DOWN GRADE TO GALE FORCE
WINDS FOR NEW YEARS DAY. WINDS WILL INCREASE AS WELL OVER THE
INSIDE WATERS TO GALE FORCE WINDS OVER NIGHT TONIGHT. AHN
.LONG RANGE...EXTENDED RANGE FORECAST PERIOD BEGINS WITH A LARGE
UPPER LOW CENTERED OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA. THE AXIS OF THE
CORRESPONDING LONG WAVE TROUGH EXTENDS SOUTH PAST 30N LATITUDE
AND IS JUST BEGINNING TO TILT IN A NEGATIVE DIRECTION. TWO SHORT
WAVES ROUND THE BASE OF THE TROUGH...ON WEDNESDAY AND AGAIN ON
FRIDAY...KEEPING IT DEEP AND SHARPLY DEFINED. THEN AN EVEN DEEPER
UPPER LOW SLIDES SOUTHEAST INTO THE GULF IN ADVANCE OF A
PROGRESSIVE UPPER RIDGE WHICH WILL REMAIN PRIMARILY SOUTH OF THE
FORECAST AREA. BY EARLY NEXT WEEK A VERY STRONG UPPER SHORT WAVE
WILL PUSH THE RIDGE EAST INTO CANADA AND CONUS WHILE LIFTING
NORTH THROUGH THE PANHANDLE.
ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS LIKELY FOR THE SOUTHERN COASTAL ZONES EARLY
IN THE LONG RANGE FORECAST PERIOD. GALE FORCE WINDS OVER VARIOUS
PORTIONS OF THE COASTAL MARINE ZONES...THE DIXON ENTRANCE...AND
CLARENCE STRAIT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SMALL CRAFT CONDITIONS
OVER THE REMAINING INNER CHANNELS FOR THE SAME PERIOD OF TIME.
LOW LEVEL TEMPERATURES...THICKNESS PATTERNS AND WIND REGIME ARE
LOOKING LIKE THEY WILL RESULT IN SNOW SLOWLY CHANGING TO MIXED
PRECIPITATION FROM SOUTH TO NORTH ALONG THE PANHANDLE THROUGH
THURSDAY MORNING. AT THIS TIME...ONLY YAKUTAT IS LIKELY TO REMAIN
ALL SNOW THROUGH THIS PERIOD. THE NEXT SHOT OF COLD AIR IS NOT
EXPECTED TO ARRIVE UNTIL EARLY NEXT WEEKEND WHEN COLDER LOW LEVEL
WESTERLY WINDS BEHIND A SURFACE TROUGH COME ASHORE ALONG THE
SOUTH COAST NEXT SUNDAY. COLD AIR SHOULD SPREAD FROM SOUTH TO
NORTH AS THE TROUGH LIFTS NORTH THROUGH THE CENTRAL PANHANDLE AND
WEAKENS. THIS SITUATION SHOULD NOT LAST TOO LONG AS A
SUB-TROPICAL WAVE TRACKS NORTHEAST ALONG A FRONTAL BOUNDARY
BRINGING WITH IT SOME WARMER LOW LEVEL THE FOLLOWING WEEK.
MODEL AGREEMENT AND CONSISTENCY WITH PREVIOUS RUN IS GOOD THIS
MORNING. HENCE NO CHANGES MADE TO WIND OR PRESSURE FIELDS.
UPDATED POP FIELDS AND REFINED TEMPERATURES. HAVE NOT YET TAKEN A
CLOSE LOOK AT SNOWFALL BUT AM NOT ANTICIPATING MAJOR CHANGES TO
THE SNOW GRIDS.
.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...HI WND WRNG FOR AKZ023-027 THRU TUE AM.
...HVY SNOW WRNG FOR AKZ029 THRU TUE PM.
...WND ADVY FOR AKZ017>022-024>026-028-029.
MARINE...STORM WRNG FOR PKZ041>043-310.
...GALE WRNG FOR PKZ021-022-031>036.
...SCA FOR PKZ011>013.
SJA/FCF2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Sitka observed a measured gust of 48 MPH at 2200 on 12/31. Analyses showed extreme surface pressure gradients on 12/31 and 1/1/08. A marine observation at Cape Decision had a measured gust of 63 knots at 2200 on new year's eve.
Craig reported very windy with higher gusts from 2000 on new year's eve through the morning of 1/1/08. A marine observation at Cape Decision had a measured gust of 63 knots at 2200 on new year's eve. Hydaburg observed a gust of 51 knots around midnight on new year's eve.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2007
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: 71915, 71917.