A major maritime storm slowly weakened as it moved along the southern Gulf of Alaska on new year's day through the second. Arctic air over the Panhandle slowly retreated as this low forced warm moist air over the region though the forth.
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.
A major maritime storm slowly weakened as it moved along the southern Gulf of Alaska on new year's day through the second. Arctic air over the Panhandle slowly retreated as this low forced warm moist air over the region though the forth.
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 2, 1:30 AM AKST, 1 hour 13 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
630 AM AST WED JAN 2 2008
.SYNOPSIS...
.SHORT RANGE...THE LARGE PARENT LOW IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL GULF IS
DRIFTING TO THE NE AND WILL CONTINUE ON THIS TRACK THROUGH TODAY
INTO TONIGHT TO BE ABOUT 100 NM OF CAPE SPENCER. THIS LOW AND AN
ASSOCIATED TROF LIFTING OVER THE AREA WILL KEEP THE ADVY LEVEL
WIND GUSTS ALONG THE COASTAL AREAS GOING THROUGH TODAY. THE
STRONG WINDS WILL DIMINISH SOME OVER THE SOUTHERN AREAS THIS
EVENING BUT WILL CONTINUE TO GUSTS TO 35 MPH BUT RELAX THROUGH
THE EVENING. FOR ZONES 23 AND 22 THE ADVY GUSTS WILL KEEP GOING
THROUGH MIDNIGHT BEFORE RELAXING AS THE LOW CONTINUES TO WEAKEN
AND THE TROF LIFTS INTO CANADA. FOR THE REST OF THE PANHANDLE
GUSTY WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING
WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 35 MPH IN EXPOSED AREAS.
FOR THE MARINE AREAS WILL HAVE GALES OVER THE COASTAL WATERS
THROUGH TODAY BUT WILL DIMINISH OVER NIGHT TO MIN SMALL CRAFTS.
SEAS WILL BE AROUND 20 FT THROUGH TODAY BUT SUBSIDE THROUGH THE
EVENING. THE INSIDE WATERS WILL SEE THE NORTHERLY WINDS INCREASE
TO MAX SMALL CRAFT BUT THESE WINDS WILL BACK TO THE SOUTH THROUGH
TONIGHT OVER MOST AREAS.
A DEFORMATION BAND IS FORMING ATTM AND WILL MOVE OVER THE
NORTHERN PANHANDLE THROUGH TONIGHT TO ENHANCE THE PRECIP AMOUNTS.
WITH THE FAR NORTHERN AREAS BEING THE ONLY PLACE WITH IN THE COLD
AIR IN PLACE THIS HAS PROMPTED A HEAVY SNOW WARNING FOR THE
HAINES AREA THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON WITH UP TO 14 INCHES
THROUGH TONIGHT WITH MORE THROUGH THURSDAY. THE SKAGWAY AREA
COULD SEE UP TO 3 INCHES BUT COULD SEE MORE DEPENDING ON WHERE
THE BAND SETS UP THEY COULD GET MORE. THE PAYA AREA ALSO COULD
SEE SOME SNOW TONIGHT AS A BAND OF MOISTURE WILL MOVE VERY CLOSE
TO THEM BUT FOR NOW GAVE THEM 1 TO 3 INCHES. THE REST OF THE
PANHANDLE WILL SEE FROM FREDRICK SOUND SOUTH ALL RAIN...COULD BE
HEAVY AT TIMES NEAR PAKT THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE NORTH CENTRAL
AREAS WILL SEE A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW THIS MORNING WITH IT
CHANGING TO ALL RAIN BY THE AFTERNOON. TEMPS WILL DROP SOME OVER
NIGHT SO SOME PLACES OVER THE NORTH CENTRAL WILL SWITCH BACK TO
SNOW WITH A FEW INCHES OF ACCUMULATIONS. AS FOR THE HYDER SNOW
WARNING WILL EXPIRE IT AT 6 AM AS MOST OF THE PRECIP HAS MOVED
THROUGH THE AREA.
THERE IS SOME ISOLATED LIGHTNING REPORTED OVER THE EASTERN GULF
ASSOCIATED WITH SOME OF THE STRONG SHOWERS. DO NOT THINK THESE
WILL LAST LONG AS WITH THE DEFORMATION BAND MOVING OVER THE AREA
THINK IT WILL STABILIZE THE ATMOSPHERE.
.LONG RANGE...RUN TO RUN CONTINUITY AND MODEL AGREEMENT CONTINUES
TO DO WELL WITH MAJOR FEATURES THROUGH THE WEEKEND. USED 00Z
GFS40 FOR GRIDS WITH A BLEND OF THE NAM40 THROUGH DAY 3.
OUR CURRENT LOW IS STILL IN NE GULF JUST SOUTH OF PAYA THROUGH
THURSDAY NIGHT AT AROUND 975 MB AND SLOWLY WEAKENING. THE UPPER
LOW OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA OPENS UP INTO A TROUGH AND LIFTS NE
THROUGH THE PANHANDLE THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY MORNING. MODERATE
ONSHORE FLOW IN MID AND UPPER LEVELS WILL BRING PLENTY OF
MOISTURE INTO THE AREA. WAA NEAR LOW CENTER WILL KEEP ALL BUT THE
FAR NORTH RAIN OR A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW. SNOW WILL CONTINUE
ACROSS IN PAHN-PAGY THURSDAY MORNING BEFORE POSSIBLY MIXING WITH
RAIN THURSDAY EVENING WITH SOUTHERLY PUSH.
A SHORT WAVE RIDGE LIFTS NORTH INTO SOUTHEAST ALASKA FRIDAY AND
FRIDAY NIGHT AND EXPECTED TO END PRECIPITATION AND BRING PARTIAL
CLEARING.
A NEW COLD UPPER LOW TROUGH MOVING INTO THE NORTHWEST GULF
THURSDAY WILL ROTATE NORTHEAST FRIDAY AND PICK UP ON A FAIRLY
STRONG 960 MB LOW IN THE NORTH PACIFIC AND SENDS IT NORTHEAST
THROUGH HECATE STATE. ON SATURDAY THE NW GULF LOW AND DIXON
ENTRANCE LOW MERGE AND LIFT NORTH THROUGH THE PANHANDLE AS A
TROUGH OVER THE WEEKEND. THE ASSOCIATED FRONT WILL WRAP NORTH
WARD WITH RAIN DEVELOPING ACROSS SOUTHERN AND COASTAL. BY THIS
TIME PLENTY OF COOL AIR HAS WORKED IT WAY BACK INTO THE NORTHERN
PANHANDLE WHERE PRECIP WILL GO BACK TO ALL SNOW.
SOME CONCERNS ABOUT PHASING OF THE NORTHERN AND SOUTH BRANCHES OF
JET BY MONDAY AND TUESDAY WHICH WILL HAVE BIG IMPACT ON
INTENSITY. CURRENTLY GFS NOT SHOWING THIS BUT ECMWF STARTING TO
HINT AT THIS. IN EITHER CASE...WILL KEEP POPS LIKELY WITH BROAD
UPPER LOW AND WEAK ONSHORE FLOW INTO PANHANDLE.
.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...SNOW WARN...AKZ19 THUR 12PM THUR
WIND ADVY...AKZ22 23 27 28
MARINE...GALE...PKZ42>43 36
SCA...PKZ52 51 11>13 21 22 31>35
ABJ/MM2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Haines customs observed 11.0 inches of new snow for twenty-four hours ending at 0700 on the second. At 1700 a trained spotter in town at Haines measured 7.5 inches of new snow between 0900 and 1700 on the second. Haines customs measured 16.8 inches of new snow for twenty-four hours ending at 0830 on the third.
The Skagway cooperative observer measured 8.0 inches of new snow that fell overnight ending on the morning of the third.
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: 73263, 73264.