A front moved across the northern Gulf of Alaska and into the Southeast Alaska panhandle on the 26th. A band of trailing showers developed behind the front which moved into the central panhandle late on the 26th and early on the 27th, spreading areas of minimal warning level snowfalls into the area.
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 front moved across the northern Gulf of Alaska and into the Southeast Alaska panhandle on the 26th. A band of trailing showers developed behind the front which moved into the central panhandle late on the 26th and early on the 27th, spreading areas of minimal warning level snowfalls into the area.
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 Feb 25, 1:50 PM AKST, 15 hours 10 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
150 PM AKST WED FEB 25 2009
.SHORT TERM...MAP ANALYSIS: A STRONG LOW OVER BERING SEA NEAR
NUNIVAK ISLAND WITH A WEAK LOW NEAR VANCOUVER ISLAND. THERE IS
HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER NORTHERN ALBERTA AFFECTING MOST OF
NORTHWEST CANADA AND HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHERN PACIFIC TO
THE WESTERN GULF OF ALASKA. A WEAK TROUGH MAINLY ALOFT ALONG 140W
AND A SECOND FRONT OVER EASTERN BRISTOL BAY AND WEST SOUTHWEST
ALONG ALEUTIANS.
FORECAST REASONING: MODELS REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT FOR THE FIRST
24 HOURS. HAVE FRESHENED THE GRIDS PRIMARILY THE MORE DETAILED
NAM12 SOLUTION...ADJUSTMENTS APPEARED TO BE MINOR TO THE FORECAST
PACKAGE IN DOING THIS.
THERE IS LOW LEVEL CLOUD DECK UNDER THE GENERAL HIGH PRESSURE
OVER THE CENTRAL GULF WITH THE EAST EDGE ALIGNED UNDER A WEAK
UPPER LEVEL TROUGH THAT IS MOVING SLOWLY EAST OVER THE PANHANDLE
AREA ON WEDNESDAY. CURRENT SATELLITE IMAGERY HAS THE CLOUDS TO
ROUGHLY 139W AND CLEAR SKIES OVER SOUTHEAST ALASKA AND SOUTHEAST
GULF DUE TO THE OFF SHORE FLOW.
EXPECT A CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION TO SPREAD EAST TO THE SOUTH
CENTRAL PANHANDLE BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. BEST BET FOR ANY
MEASURABLE WILL BE MAINLY OVER THE NORTHEAST GULF COAST.
SOME LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS THROUGH LYNN CANAL WILL CONTINUE INTO
THIS EVENING OVER NORTHERN LYNN CANAL.
.LONG TERM...
LONG TERM FORECAST BEGINS WITH AN UPR TROUGH MOVING INTO THE
W GULF THU NIGHT. THE TROUGH CONTINUES TO MOVE E ACROSS THE
NORTHERN GULF BEFORE DIGGING S FRI MORNING. AN ASSOCIATED WEAK
SFC LOW WILL DEVELOP OVER THE N CENTRAL GULF THU NIGHT THEN
PARALLEL THE COAST AS IT MOVES SE FRI. OFFSHORE FLOW WILL HELP
KEEP THE BEST CHANCES FOR PRECIP OVER THE GULF. MAJORITY OF PRECIP
WILL BE IN FORM OF SNOW WITH ACCUMULATIONS LESS THAN 1 INCH
EXPECTED. THE UPPER TROUGH WILL BRING IN SOME COOLER AIR AND IN
RESPONSE...LOWERED TEMPS A COUPLE OF DEGREES THROUGH SAT.
MODELS CONTINUE TO REMAIN IN FAIR AGREEMENT THROUGH THE END OF THE
WEEK THEN BEGIN TO DIVERGE AT THE START OF NEXT WEEK. THE MAIN
DIFFERENCE REMAINS THE POSITIONING OF THE UPR RIDGE. GFS CONTINUES
TO BUILD THE RIDGE AS ITS AXIS TILTS MORE TO THE EAST WITH A SW/NE
ORIENTATION BEGINNING AROUND 35N AND EXTENDING TO THE NORTHEASTERN
GULF. MEANWHILE THE ECMWF IS A LITTLE BIT SLOWER WITH THE AXIS
REMAINING OVER THE EASTERN ALEUTIANS MON AND TILTING EASTWARD INTO
THE NE GULF BY LATE TUE/EARLY WED. THE 12Z GFS INITIALIZED BEST
THIS MORNING AND AFTER CONSULTING WITH PAFC...BLENDING THE 12Z GFS
WITH INHERITED GRIDS THROUGH SUN. LEFT GRIDS BEYOND SUN UNTOUCHED
WITH HOPES THAT MODELS WILL COME INTO BETTER AGREEMENT OVER THE
NEXT COUPLE OF RUNS. FORECASTER CONFIDENCE IS HIGH THROUGH SUN
MORNING THEN DIMINISHES THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.
.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...NONE.
MARINE...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ052.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY DUE TO SEAS FOR PKZ041>043-051.
BEZENEK/MAM5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
A spotter 8 miles south of Haines reported that 9.0 inches of snow fell during the day from roughly 5 am through 6 pm. The snow was associated with the frontal band moving through the area. Other reports from around the area were much less associated with the frontal band.
A coop observer in Gustavus reported that 6.5 inches of snow fell when a front moved into the area during the daytime on the 26th.
A couple bands of showers moved onshore from the southwest over the south central panhandle resulting in accumulations around 6 inches over the area. Port Alexander coop reported that 6.4 inches snow, mainly from snow showers late on the 26th tapering off by the morning of the 27th.
A couple bands of showers moved onshore from the southwest over the south central panhandle resulting in accumulations around 6 inches over the area. Hidden Falls coop reported that 6.5 inches of new snow, mainly from snow showers late on the 26th which ended on the morning of the 27th.
A couple bands of showers moved onshore from the southwest over the south central panhandle resulting in accumulations to around 6 inches over the area. Point Baker coop measured 5.8 inches of new snow, mainly from snow showers late on the 26th which ended on the morning of the 27th.
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, February 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: 156615, 156616, 156617, 156618, 156619.