A 1036 MB arctic High pressure system was over the Yukon on 12/22 with cold air in gap flow for northern SE Alaska. Warm moist air began to overrun this cold outflow resulting in heavy snow for several areas in the Northern Panhandle.
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 1036 MB arctic High pressure system was over the Yukon on 12/22 with cold air in gap flow for northern SE Alaska. Warm moist air began to overrun this cold outflow resulting in heavy snow for several areas in the Northern Panhandle. Gap winds increased during the night of 12/22 as the high pressure cell began to rebuild. A 982 MB gale force low then moved into the central Gulf on the morning of 12/23 to further increase the pressure gradients and move in warm moist air at mid levels throughout the day for more snow and wind on 12/24.
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 22, 6:03 AM AKST, 6 hours 39 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
603 AM AKST TUE DEC 22 2009
.SHORT TERM...300 MB AND 500 MB RIDGE CONTINUES TO SLOWLY MOVE
TO THE EAST AND CLOSE OFF A HIGH OVER NORTHERN ALASKA. NORTHWEST
FLOW ALOFT CONTINUES OVER THE SE PANHANDLE AND SOUTHWEST FLOW
DOMINATES THE WESTERN PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA. SATELLITE
REVEALS HIGH AND MID LEVEL CLOUDS SPILLING OVER THE RIDGE AXIS
INTO THE PANHANDLE. COASTAL LOCATIONS CIGS HAVE FALLEN FROM VFR
TO MVFR AND THIN HIGH OVERCAST NOW COVER MOST OF THE INNER
CHANNELS PROVIDING A SLIGHT MODERATION ON A COLD MORNING. FRONTAL
BAND EVIDENT ON IR SATELLITE IN THE CENTRAL GULF ASSOCIATED WITH
RETROGRADING LOW IN THE BERING SEA. THE FRONT CONTINUES TO
STRETCH AND WEAKEN AT THIS TIME.
WINDS REMAIN LIGHT ACROSS THE PANHANDLE THIS MORNING WITH THE
EXCEPTION OF PAGY WHICH HAS FLIRTED WITH ADVISORY LEVEL GUSTS
EARLY THIS MORNING AS 1036 MB HIGH SLOWLY MOVES TO THE SOUTHEAST
IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. WINDS REMAIN GUSTY OUT OF INTERIOR PASSES
ALONG THE COASTAL MOUNTAINS WITH PBPA STILL EXPERIENCING 30 KT
GUSTS.
WIND AND SNOW ARE THE FORECAST CONCERNS FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND
TONIGHT AS GALE FORCE LOW STRENGTHENS AND MOVES NORTH ALONG THE
OLD FRONTAL BOUNDARY INTO THE WESTERN GULF THIS EVENING AND
TONIGHT. 985 MB LOW IS FORECAST TO MOVE NORTH AND THEN NORTHWEST
AND BE NEAR THE SOUTHERN TIP OF THE KENAI PENINSULA BY 18Z WED.
WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE THROUGH THE DAY WITH ALL OFFSHORE
AND OUTSIDE WATERS AT GALES BY THIS EVENING AND STORM LEVEL WINDS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH BARRIER JET THIS EVENING IN MKZ 52 AS WARM
FRONT OCCLUDES AS IT APPROACHES THE NORTHERN COAST LATE TONIGHT.
BARRIER JET PEGS 65 TO 70 KTS AT 850 MB JUST OFF SHORE FROM ZONE
17. WIND FIELDS IN THE MODELS DISPLAYING CONSIDERABLE DIFFERENCES
IN TIME STRENGTH AND LOCATIONS OF NOT ONLY THE BARRIER JET BUT
ALSO FRONTAL POSITION AND ATTENDING WINDS AS IT APPROACHES THE
OUTER COAST AS WELL. WIND ADVISORIES MAY BE NEEDED ALONG THE
OUTER COAST AND IN ZONE 17 LATE TONIGHT OR TOMORROW MORNING AND
FOR ZONES 22 23 LATE TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. WOULD LIKE TO SEE
BETTER MODEL CONSENSUS ON LOCATION AND STRENGTH BEFORE PULLING
TRIGGER ON WIND ADVISORIES.
DEEP AND COLD AIR ENTRENCHED ACROSS THE PANHANDLE ATTM WILL
ALLOW FOR PRECIP ASSOCIATED WITH APPROACHING FRONTAL SYSTEM TO
START AS ALL SNOW THIS AFTERNOON IN PAYA. MODEL THICKNESS
PROFILES AND SOUNDINGS INDICATE THE SNOW SHOULD BEGIN TO CHANGE
OVER TO A RAIN SNOW MIX BY 09Z TO 12Z ON THE NAM12 EC AND UKMET.
THE MIX WITH RAIN COMES AT 15 TO 18Z ON THE GFS. A QUICK 1 TO
3 INCHES INDICATED FOR PAYA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING BEFORE
MIXING WITH RAIN TONIGHT. GFS WAS OUTLIER SOLUTION AND WAS NOT
USED IN GRIDS. A LATER CHANGE OVER FROM ALL SNOW WOULD LIKELY
MEET ADVISORY LEVEL CRITERIA FOR NOW IN PAYA. AS PARENT LOW IS IN
THE WESTERN GULF THE FRONT WEAKENS AND STRETCHES AS IT APPROACHES
THE OUTER COAST. THERE IS A FAIRLY TIGHT POP GRADIENT WITH LIKELY
POP ON THE COAST AND CHANCE POPS IN THE INNER CHANNELS TONIGHT.
MINIMAL ACCUMULATION EXPECTED ALONG THE COST SOUTH OF PASI AND
1 TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE ALONG THE COASTAL ZONES NORTH OF PASI.
NAM12 AGAIN WAS HANDLING THE GRADIENT ALONG THE COASTAL MOUNTAIN
BEST AND WAS PREFERRED GUIDANCE. ECMWF AND NAM12 CLUSTERED WELL
AT THE TAIL END OF THE SHORT TERM. A BLEND OF THE TWO MODELS WAS
USED TO NUDGE INHERITED GRIDS. THIS COMBINATION INTRODUCED
MINIMAL CHANGES TO THE GRIDS OTHER THAN A SLIGHTLY FASTER
SOLUTION OF ABOUT 3 HOURS ON APPROACHING GALE FORCE LOW. FORECAST
CONFIDENCE IS AVERAGE THROUGH THE SHORT TERM AS MODEL SPREAD IS
LARGER TODAY THAN OVER THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS.
&&
.LONG TERM...MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH AN
UPPER LEVEL RIDGE CONTINUING ACROSS THE FORECAST DOMAIN THROUGH
LATE THURSDAY. THE ECMWF HAS SHOWN A BETTER RUN-TO-RUN CONTINUITY
THAN OTHER MODELS WITH THE ORIENTATION OF THE RIDGE AND THE
POSITION OF THE INCOMING UPPER LOW FROM THE NORTH PACIFIC. THE
ECMWF ALSO SHOWS A BIT STRONGER TREND OF THE LOW TRACKING
NORTHEAST ACROSS THE NORTH PACIFIC. BASED ON THE BETTER
CONTINUITY...PREFERRED THE ECMWF SOLUTIONS AND BLENDED INTO THE
INHERITED GRIDS THROUGH THE END OF THE LONG TERM PERIOD.
THE POSITIVELY TILTED RIDGE WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE EASTERN GULF
AND SOUTHEAST ALASKA DOWN SOUTH TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST THROUGH
LATE THURSDAY WITH GUSTY OFFSHORE FLOW OUT OF THE INTERIOR PASSES.
THE INTERACTION OF THE NEXT SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL BEGIN ACROSS THE
OUTER WATERS AND PANHANDLE COASTAL SECTIONS ON WEDNESDAY WITH
INCREASING WINDS/SEAS AND POPS.
THE ARRIVING FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL GENERATE GALE FORCE WINDS AND
ROUGH SEAS ACROSS THE OFFSHORE AND OUTSIDE WATERS INCLUDING OCEAN
ENTRANCES OF INNER CHANNELS THROUGH AT LEAST FRIDAY. THE CENTRAL
AND SOUTHWESTERN PANHANDLE COASTS WILL EXPERIENCE ADVISORY LEVEL
WIND GUSTS AS WELL FROM ELFIN COVE SOUTHEAST TO CRAIG ON WEDNESDAY
INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING.
THE EMBEDDED CUT-OFF LOW OF THE INCOMING TROUGH WILL CONTINUE TO
MOVE NORTHEASTWARD INTO THE FAR SOUTH WESTERN GULF BY EARLY FRIDAY
MORNING. AHEAD OF THIS TROUGH...A SECONDARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL
DRIFT TOWARDS THE PANHANDLE COAST FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF GUSTY WINDS
FOR THURSDAY AND FRIDAY.
A SLOW WARMING TREND WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE FORECAST DOMAIN
WITH THE INCOMING TROUGH THROUGH THE WEEKEND. AS THE RIDGE
GRADUALLY MOVE EAST AWAY FROM THE AREA...A COLDER AIR WILL RETURN
TO THE FORECAST AREAS FROM THE CANADIAN CONTINENT FROM SUNDAY
NIGHT INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK.
&&
.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...NONE.
MARINE...STORM WARNING FOR PKZ052.
GALE WARNING FOR PKZ041>043-051.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ011>013-021-022-031>036-053.
&&
CCC/AHN3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter in downtown Haines measured a storm total of 5.3 inches of new snow at 1800 AKST on 12/23. 6-8 inches new additional snow fell on the night of 12/23. 8 more inches of snow fell during the day of 11/24. One spotter had a storm total of 16 inches that had compacted.
The Glacier Bay area had quite a mix of winter weather on 12/23. 4.6 inches of new snow was measured at 1330 AKST on 12/23 which was followed by rain and freezing rain. Outlying areas probably received higher amounts of new snow on 12/23. Some wind was reported at Bartlett Cove which implied that the more windy areas probably had wind gusts to 30 MPH as also inferred from NCEP surface analyses.
Spotters measured 4 to 6 inches inches of new snowfall in 12 hours ending around 1800 AKST on 12/23. Gale force winds occurred in Icy Strait just to the north of Hoonah, with some wind inland.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2009
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: 206985, 207000, 207004.