On the eleventh a storm force low approached from the south which moved onto the coast near Cape Decision at 981 MB that afternoon. This was rapidly followed by another storm moving to near Sitka at 984 MB on the afternoon of the thirteenth.
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 eleventh a storm force low approached from the south which moved onto the coast near Cape Decision at 981 MB that afternoon. This was rapidly followed by another storm moving to near Sitka at 984 MB on the afternoon of the thirteenth. This center moved northward into the interior on the morning of the fourteenth followed by onshore flow, both at the surface and aloft, into the evening of the fourteenth.
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 12, 6:00 AM AKST, 0 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1100 AM AST SAT JAN 12 2008
.SYNOPSIS...
.SHORT RANGE...A 977 MB LOW JUST WEST OF SITKA APPEARS TO BE
SLIGHTLY RIGHT OF THE FORECAST TRACK. A SEEMINGLY INCONSEQUENTIAL
DETAIL...BUT THIS WILL HAVE SOME SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS ON THE
LOCATION OF THE RAIN-SNOW LINE AND TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS
THROUGHOUT THE DAY. THE MORE EASTERLY TRACK WILL DELAY OR...IN
SOME LOCATIONS...PREVENT THE ONSET OF SNOW CHANGING TO RAIN.
TOTAL SNOW OVER CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ZONES WILL BE MORE AS WELL.
HAVE ALREADY UPGRADED THE HOONAH SNOW ADVISORY TO A HEAVY SNOW
WARNING FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY TODAY. AS FOR WIND AND
CURRENT WIND ADVISORIES...AM PLANNING ON KEEPING THEM GOING BUT
EXPECT TO HAVE TO ADD SKAGWAY AND POSSIBLY HAINES FOR A VERY
STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT THAN WILL RESULT FROM THIS LOW TRACKING
NORTH OVER LYNN CANAL AND WHITE PASS.
TONIGHT A SHORT WAVE TROUGH WILL PUSH ACROSS ZONE 17 AND THE
CURRENT OFFSHORE CONDITIONS THERE ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME ONSHORE.
COLD AIR OVER THE NORTHERN GULF AND LEFT OVER SHOWER ACTIVITY
WILL LIKELY RESULT IN HEAVY SNOWFALL SO AM PLANNING ON REPLACING
THE WINTER STORM WATCH THERE WITH AT LEAST A SNOW ADVISORY FOR
TONIGHT.
AS FOR TOMORROW...A 994 MB LOW WILL INTER THE SOUTHEAST GULF LATE
TONIGHT WITH VERY GOOD JET SUPPORT. THIS LOW WILL CONTINUE TO
DEEPEN WHILE TRACKING NORTHEAST INTO THE SOUTHERN COASTAL MARINE
ZONES AND GENERATE FIRST SOUTHERLY AND THEN WESTERLY GALES THERE.
WIND ADVISORIES FOR THE SOUTHERN ZONES PROBABLE TOMORROW.
LANDFALL PROJECTED LATE IN THE DAY NEAR CAPE DECISION. SOUTHERN
ZONES SHOULD START OUT IN RAIN TOMORROW WITH SNOW NORTH OF
FREDERICK SOUND. BUT THE MORE EASTERLY TRACK OF THIS LOW AND COLD
AIR ON THE BACK SIDE ARE MAKING A MAJOR SNOW EVENT FOR SUNDAY
INTO MONDAY MORE AND MORE LIKELY. AT THIS POINT...AM EXPECTING
WIDESPREAD ADVISORY LEVEL SNOWFALL FOR ALL BUT ZONES
17...27...AND 28 WITH SOME LOCATIONS RECEIVING AS MUCH AS 8
INCHES BY SUNDAY EVENING.
.LONG RANGE...NEXT DEVELOPING WAVE PULLING NORTH THROUGH THE
CENTRAL PANHANDLE ON SUNDAY WILL CONTINUE INTO BRITISH COLUMBIA
THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT WHILE A WEAK TROUGH WILL EXTEND TO A LOW
NEAR PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND. THE LOW NEAR PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND WILL
THEN BE FORCED EASTWARD ACROSS THE PANHANDLE BY MONDAY EVENING
FROM A RIDGE BEING MOVED EAST ACROSS THE GULF BY A VERY STRONG
SYSTEM MOVING INTO THE BERING SEA AREA MONDAY.
A BROAD UPPER LEVEL VORTEX NEAR THE KAMCHATKA PENINSULA WILL
CONTINUE TO SPIN SYSTEMS AROUND THEM AND INTO THE WESTERN PART OF
THE STATE. THE ASSOCIATED FRONTAL BAND OF THE FIRST MAIN LOW
SHOULD SPREAD ACROSS THE GULF TUESDAY FOR SOUTHEAST ALASKA ...
AND A TRAILING WAVE SPREAD NORTHEAST FOR EARLY WEDNESDAY ON THE
BACK SIDE OF THE RIDGE STILL ANCHORED OVER WEST COAST THROUGH END
OF THE WEEK.
THE MORE IMMEDIATE FEATURE OF THE LOW MOVING THROUGH SUNDAY
EVENING AND EARLY MONDAY WILL HAVE DIMINISHING WINDS AS THE LOW
IS FILLING AND MOVING THROUGH...ALTHOUGH WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED
TO SEE A SHORT BURST OF STRONG WEST WINDS SLAM THE COAST OF
PRINCE OF WALES ISLAND...SOUTHERN BARANOF AND PROBABLY KUIU
ISLAND AS WELL WITH GUSTS BACK UP TO 50 KT OR SO. WILL HAVE TO
KEEP AN EYE ON THIS.
MEAN WHILE ON THE NORTH AND NORTHWEST PORTION OF THE LOW AS IT
MOVES OVER THE PANHANDLE COLD AIR WILL BE REINFORCED ... AND SNOW
WILL BE A CONCERN OVER SEVERAL ZONES. LIKELY SEE A BAND OF
SIGNIFICANT SNOWS AS THE LOW MOVES THROUGH ESPECIALLY OVER THE
ZONES 20-21-25-19 AND 18 I BELIEVE. WILL BE FINE TUNING THIS
THROUGH THE AFTERNOON BEFORE ISSUING.
.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...WSW AKZ017
HVY SNOW WRNG AKZ019-021
WIND ADVSRY ALL REMAINING ZONES EXCPT AKZ018
MARINE...STORM PKZ041>042-036
GALE PKZ043-012>013-031>034
SMCR ALL REMAINING COASTAL WATERS AND INNER CHANNELS
FCF - BMB4 heavy snow, 2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter in downtown Haines measured 7.2 inches of new snow between 0900 to 1615 on the twelfth with heavy snow continuing. Haines customs measured 16.0 inches of new snow for twenty-four hours ending at 0800 on the thirteenth.
The cooperative observer in Craig observed a measured gust of 77 MPH at 1325 on the thirteenth as the power failed in Craig. Hydaburg had a measured gust of 72 mph on the thirteenth.
The Glacier Bay cooperative observer measured 11.0 inches of new snow for twenty-four hours ending at 0800 on the fourteenth. Surface observations at the Gustavus airport indicated that the new snow fell on the afternoon and evening of the thirteenth.
The cooperative observer at Hoonah measured 8.4 inches of new snow for twenty-four hours ending at 0800 on the fourteenth. Analyses indicted that most of the new snow fell on the evening of the thirteenth. A trained spotter at Tenakee Springs measured 5.5 inches for the thirteenth.
A trained spotter at milepost 17 on the Glacier Highway measured 3.8 inches of new snow at 0800 on the thirteenth and 5.9 inches of new snow at 0800 on the fourteenth. Analyses indicate that this snowfall occurred on the morning and afternoon of the thirteenth. Lesser amounts fell in town.
Strong arctic outflow immediately followed a snow event. Juneau airport had a measured gust of 66 MPH at 1630 on the thirteenth. Sheep Mountain had 115 MPH sustained and a measured gust of 154 MPH at 1630. The Federal building downtown had a measured gust of 75 MPH at 2220. Mayflower Island observed a peak wind of 70 mph at 2033.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 2008
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: 73942, 73984, 73955, 73963, 73980, 73983.