Rapid storm development occurred over the central Gulf on the morning of the twenty-fifth. This system intensified as a low center at 982 MB just off Sitka on the afternoon of the twenty-fifth.
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.
Rapid storm development occurred over the central Gulf on the morning of the twenty-fifth. This system intensified as a low center at 982 MB just off Sitka on the afternoon of the twenty-fifth. Arctic high pressure built over the central interior of Alaska that night as the surface low stalled over the panhandle then formed two centers - one well inland and one over the eastern Gulf. The Gulf low moved slowly while weakening to the Queen Charlotte Islands on the evening of the twenty-sixth as arctic air moved into the Panhandle from the north. Strong arctic high pressure built into the Yukon on the night of the twenty-sixth and persisted through the twenty-seventh.
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 24, 6:00 AM AKST, 18 hours earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1100 AM AST THU JAN 24 2008
.SYNOPSIS...
.SHORT RANGE...MAIN FORECAST CONCERN WILL BE EVOLVING STORM IN
THE NORTHWESTERN GULF BEGINNING TONIGHT. A LOW WILL DEVELOP NEAR
THE KENAI PENINSULA LATE TONIGHT AND DEEPEN TO AROUND 982 MB JUST
SOUTH OF YAKUTAT BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A COLD INTERIOR PUSH
TONIGHT UNDER PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WILL ALLOW PRECIPITATION TO
PRIMARILY FALL AS SNOW ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. A HEAVY SNOW
WARNING IS EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT THROUGH 6 PM FRIDAY. A WINTER
STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM EARLY FRIDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT.
EXPECT THE GREATEST DYNAMICS AND PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS ACROSS THE
NORTHEASTERN GULF COAST AND NORTHERN INNER CHANNELS. FURTHER
SOUTH...BARANOF ISLAND AND THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE WILL REMAIN
WARM ENOUGH FOR BOTH RAIN AND SNOW. WILL LIKELY UPGRADE
19-20-21-22 TO WARNINGS AND THE REST OF THE WATCH AREA TO AT
LEAST AN ADVISORY IF NOT ALSO A WARNING.
FOR THE MARINE WATERS...GALES WILL BUILD INTO THE WESTERN BORDER
OF THE FORECAST AREA TONIGHT AND CREEP INTO THE COASTAL ZONES
LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON.
.LONG RANGE...IT LOOKS LIKE EVERYTHING IS ON TRACK THROUGH THE
LONG RANGE TIME FRAME. WILL SPEND MOST OF THE TIME ON FRIDAY
NIGHT THROUGH SAT NIGHT AS THAT IS WHEN THE MOST SIGNIFICANT
WEATHER CHANGES WILL HAPPEN. THERE REMAINS TO BE FAIRLY GOOD
MODEL AGREEMENT THROUGH THE LONG RANGE WITH JUST SOME MINOR
DETAIL ISSUES.
THE 985 MB LOW OVER THE EASTERN GULF WILL CONTINUE TO DRIFT SE
OVER THE PANHANDLE THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT. AN ASSOCIATED FRONT WILL
PUSHING THROUGH THE PANHANDLE FRIDAY EVENING WITH STRONG UPPER
LEVEL DYNAMICS AND WITH COLD TEMPS. THESE COLD TEMPS OVER THE
NORTHERN HALF OF SE AK ALONG WITH GOOD FRONTOGENESIS ALONG THE
THE ARCTIC FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE SNOW OVER MOST
STATIONS. ADDITIONAL SNOW AMOUNTS WILL RANGE FROM 2 TO 5 INCHES
WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS NEAR PAPG AND PAOH FRIDAY NIGHT AS THE
LOW MOVES OVER POW. THE FAR NORTHERN AREAS WILL SEE THE SNOW
TAPPER OFF OVER NIGHT AS THE VERY COLD AND WINDY CONDITIONS WILL
BEGIN TO DEVELOP. THE FAR SOUTHERN AREAS WILL A MIX OF RAIN AND
SNOW FRIDAY EVENING THEN BECOME ALL SNOW AS THERE WILL STRONG CCA
AT ALL LEVELS...AMOUNTS WILL VARY DEPENDING ON WHEN THEY CHANGE
ALL THE WAY OVER TO SNOW.
A UPPER HIGH OVER THE BERING WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD THROUGH SAT
AND DRIFT EAST OVER THE INTERIOR THROUGH THE WEEKEND. AT THE
SURFACE...A 1045MB HIGH WILL DROP OUT OF THE ARCTIC AND DRIFT
INTO THE SOUTHERN YUKON THROUGH SAT. THIS WILL SEND VERY COLD AIR
OVER THE PANHANDLE ALONG WITH DEVELOPING A VERY STRONG PRESSURE
GRADIENT TO PRODUCE VERY STRONG WINDS FROM THE NORTH. WIND GUSTS
WILL BE IN THE ADVY LEVEL WITH A POSSIBLE OF TAKU WINDS
DEVELOPING NEAR DOWNTOWN JUNEAU SAT NIGHT. THESE NORTHERLY WINDS
WILL ADVECT VERY COLD TEMPERATURES AND TEMPS WILL DROP INTO THE
TEENS DURING THE DAY AND SUB-ZERO AT NIGHT...COLDEST IN WIND
SHELTERED AREAS. THE WINDS WILL INCREASE OUT OF THE NORTH TO
GALES OVER MOST AREAS WITH HIGHER GUSTS(TO 70KT) NEAR INTERIOR
PASS AND OVER THE INNER CHANNELS ALONG WITH OVER THE NORTHERN
GULF ALONG WITH AREAS OF FREEZING SPRAY LATE FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH
THE WEEKEND.
THE WINDS WILL SLOWLY DIMINISH MON INTO TUE AS THE SURFACE HIGH
WEAKENS AND DRIFTS SE. THE TEMPS WILL SLOWLY MODERATE THROUGH THE
MID WEEK AS A UPPER RIDGE OVER THE SW GULF BUILDS OVER THE
EASTERN GULF TUE. THIS ONSHORE FLOW WILL RAISE TEMPS SOME BUT THE
ARCTIC FRONT WILL STILL BE OVER THE PANHANDLE SO TEMPS WILL BE
STILL BELOW NORMAL.
AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...HEAVY SNOW WARN...ZONE 17
WINTER STORM WATCH...ZONES 19-20-21-22-24-25-26
WIND ADVSRY...ZONE 18 THRU 3 PM
MARINE...GALE...12-13
SMCR...11-21-31-32-33-41-42-43-51-5210 heavy snow, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Yakutat measured 8.0 inches of new snow from midnight to midnight on the twenty-fifth with 6 inches falling between midnight and noon.
The Glacier Bay cooperative observer measured 3.2 inches of new snow at 0800 on the twenty-fifth and 7.7 inches of new snow at 0800 on the twenty-sixth. Analyses indicated that the 10.9 inches fell from 0600 to 1800 on the twenty-fifth.
The forecast office measured 8.4 inches of new snow midnight to midnight on the twenty-fifth with 1.2 more inches on the twenty-sixth. Lemon Creek measured 9.1 inches on the morning of the twenty-sixth from new snow overnight. Auke Bay had 5.2 inches on the twenty-fifth and 3.5 inches overnight. Downtown had measured 4.0 inches on the morning of the twenty-sixth.
Haines customs measured 11.5 inches of new snowfall for twenty-four hours ending at 0800 on the twenty-sixth. Analyses indicated that most of the snowfall was during the daylight hours on the twenty-fifth. A trained spotter in Haines measured 6.4 inches in twelve hours on the twenty-fifth.
The cooperative observer at Pelican measured 11.0 inches of new snow for twenty-four hours ending at 0800 on the twenty-sixth. The cooperative observer at Elfin Cove measured 12.7 inches of new snow at 0800 on the twenty-sixth. Analyses and nearby surface observations indicated that most if not all of the new snow fell between 0800 and 2000 on the twenty-fifth.
Skagway power plant measured 5.0 inches of new snow for the twenty-fifth. Analyses indicated that much more than 6 inches of new snow fell on the Klondike highway for twelve hours ending at 1800 on the twenty-fifth.
The Hoonah cooperative observer measured 9.7 inches of new snow for the twenty-four hours ending at 0800 on the twenty-sixth. Analyses and nearby surface observations indicated that the new snow fell between 0900 and 2100 on the twenty-fifth.
The Petersburg cooperative observer measured 9.7 inches of new snowfall on the twenty-fifth and 5.5 inches on the twenty-sixth. Wrangell only had 3.0 inches on the twenty-fifth and 2.5 inches on the twenty-sixth. Analyses indicated that most of the new snowfall was between 0900 and 1800 on the twenty-fifth.
The cooperative observer at Hidden Falls measured 6.0 inches of new snowfall for twenty-four hours ending at 0800 on the twenty-sixth. Analyses indicated that all of this new snow fell between 1500 on the twenty-fifth and 0300 on the twenty-sixth.
The cooperative observer at Hyder measured 11.5 inches of new snow for twenty-four hours ending at 0800 on the twenty-sixth. An additional 1.6 inches were measured for for twenty-four hours ending at 0800 on the twenty-seventh. Analyses indicated that the additional snow fell on the morning of the twenty-sixth.
South Douglas had a peak wind 67 knots at 0904 on the twenty-seventh with multiple gusts in the 50s and 60s.
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: 73985, 73988, 74018, 73987, 74007, 73986, 73991, 74040, 74013, 74045, 74052.