Very cold arctic air was in place over the northern half the panhandle and interior valleys near British Columbia. A frontal band moved across the gulf developing overrunning snow across the northern panhandle the 6th.
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.
Very cold arctic air was in place over the northern half the panhandle and interior valleys near British Columbia. A frontal band moved across the gulf developing overrunning snow across the northern panhandle the 6th. Another trailing low developed and moved northward across the panhandle with another band of heavy snow on the 7th.
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 5, 5:14 PM AKST, 11 hours 16 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
514 PM AKST THU FEB 5 2009
.SHORT TERM...A LOW CURRENTLY 600 NM S OF COLD BAY IS TRACKING
NE AND IS THE CENTER OF A LARGE-SCALE CYCLOGENETIC SYSTEM TO
ENTER THE GULF OF ALASKA FRI AS IT BRINGS A BROAD BAND OF
MODERATE INTENSITY PRECIPITATION TO SE AK. A LOW AND OCCLUSION
ALREADY IN THE WRN GLFALSK WILL BEGIN WEAKENING TONIGHT DUE TO
THE STRONG WARM SECTOR RIDGE THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
LARGE-SCALE CYCLOGENETIC SYSTEM.
A MARITIME MODIFIED ARCTIC AMS IN THE PANHANDLE WILL MODIFY
AWAY TO WARMER MARITIME IN A S TO N SEQUENCE TONIGHT THROUGH FRI
NIGHT. THE RESULT OF THIS WARMING IS THAT THE PRECIPITATION
ASSOCIATED WITH THE STRONG CYCLOGENTIC SYSTEM WILL CHANGE TO ALL
RAIN UP TO FREDERICK SOUND FRI, AND CONTINUE TO WARM NORTHWARD
FRI NIGHT AND SAT.
NOTE THE WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT MEANS ONLY A 60 TO 70
PERCENT CONFIDENCE THAT THE WINTER STORM WILL OCCUR. THE
CONFIDENCE IS LIMITED PRIMARILY BY THE CONCERN THE WARM UP FROM
THE SOUTH COULD OCCUR RAPIDLY ENOUGH TO LIMIT THE SNOW FALL TO
BELOW 6 INCHES IN 12 HOURS. THE THERMAL THRESHOLDS FOR A SNOW TO
RAIN TRANSITION ARE OVER THE NRN HALF OF THE PANHANDLE FRI NIGHT
INCLUDING 1290M 1000-850 MB THICKNESS, -6C 850 MB TEMP, AND 528
DAM THICKNESS FOR THE 1000-500 MB. NAM USED AS PRIMARY GUIDANCE.
ABOUT THAT WEAKER SYSTEM THAT IS ALREADY IN THE GULF: A 996 MB
LOW IN THE VICINITY OF KODIAK HAS AN OCCLUSION EXTDG SE FM SEWARD
TO A TRIPLE POINT ABOUT 200 NM SE OF KODIAK. THE LOW WILL
DISSIPATE WHILE TRACKING NE, AND THE OCCLUSION WILL WEAKEN AS IT
TRACKS NE TO EXTEND S FM YAKUTAT 12Z FRI.
.LONG TERM...WINTER STORM POTENTIAL FOR ZONES 17...19...20...21
AND 25 FOR FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING THE PRIMARY
FOCUS IN THE LONG TERM. 05 12Z NAM12 WAS USED AS PRIMARY GUIDANCE
THROUGH SUNDAY. MINIMAL CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE PRESSURE AND
WIND GRIDS FROM DAY 4 TO DAY 8 AS THE MODELS STILL HAVE A LARGE
SPREAD ON SOLUTIONS PAST DAY 6 AND WOULD HAVE INTRODUCED LARGE
CONTINUITY DIFFERENCES INTO THE GRIDS.
THE 12Z AND 18Z GFS AND 12Z NAM12 ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON TIMING
AND TRACK OF THE 990MB LOW INTO THE NORTH CENTRAL GULF. THE 12Z EC
IS A BIT SLOWER AND FURTHER WEST AND WAS NOT THE PREFERRED
SOLUTION. NAM12 BRINGS NEARLY AN INCH AND A QUARTER OF LIQUID
EQUIVALENT TO PAJN WHILE GFS BRINGS OVER ONE AND A HALF INCHES OF
LIQUID EQUIVALENT FROM FROM 18Z ON THE 6TH TO 18Z ON THE 7TH.
THERE IS ABUNDANT MOISTURE WITH THIS SYSTEM. THE CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN ARE PROGGED TO RECEIVE OVER AN INCH OF RAIN WITH THIS EVENT.
FOR ZONES 17...19...20...21 25 THE QUESTION IS HOW LONG WILL THE
COLD AIR STAY IN PLACE BEFORE MIXING WITH RAIN. SNOW MODEL AND
MODEL THICKNESS INDICATE AROUND 12Z OR 15Z FOR JUNEAU AND BETWEEN
9Z AND 12Z FOR HOONAH AND AROUND 9Z FOR PAYA. MODEL THICKNESS
VALUES DO NOT SUPPORT A CHANGE OVER IN ZONE 19. SNOW TOTALS COULD
BE SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IF THE RAIN MIX HAPPENS LATER. AT THE VERY
LEAST THE SNOW THAT FALLS WILL BE VERY WET AND HEAVY AND ON THE
ORDER OF 9 OR 10 TO 1.
AS THE LOW APPROACHES THERE IS STILL CONCERN FOR ZONES 23...27 AND
28 FOR STRONG WINDS. 12Z NAM12 BRINGS 65KTS AT 850 OVER THESE
ZONES. THIS SHOULD BE CLOSELY MONITORED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF
ADVISORY OR EVEN WARNING LEVEL WINDS IF THE LOW MOVES ON A MORE
EASTERLY TRACK.
&&
.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...WINTER STORM WATCH FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE FRIDAY
NIGHT FOR AKZ017-019>021-025.
MARINE...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ022-033>036-041>043-051-052.
&&
JBT/CCC5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The coop station at Skagway Power measured 7.0 inches new snow by 7 am on the 7th. Based on estimates of observations at the Skagway airport, a few miles away, the main snow accumulation was over by 3 am.
A brief overrunning snow event occurred as weak trough moved across the northern panhandle. The heavier snow amounts were limited to the northern portion primarily near the border. The coop at the Haines Customs measured a new snow total of 5.8 inches primarily within 12 hours of 3 AM.
An overrunning event occurred over interior valleys leading to the Canadian interior as a weak trough moved over the northern panhandle. The heaviest snow amounts were restricted to the these valleys. Snettisham Power Station reported a total of 7 inches in the previous 12 hours. Canyon Island in Taku Inlet reported a total of 19.1 inches for a 24 hour total ending the morning of the 7th. A NWS employee estimated a 6 inches snowfall by 1 pm. The Juneau Forecast Office reported a snow fall of 7.0 inches in 12 hours by 3 pm.
A band of moisture was lifted over the cold arctic air over the northern panhandle resulting in a good overrunning event of moderate to heavy snow. The coop in Haines reported 13 inches of snow since 8 am at 4 pm. An event total of 17 inches by 930 pm was reported by the coop. A spotter 6 miles south of Haines reported an event total of 15 inches of snow. The spotter reported that at least 2 trees were toppled due the weight of the snow.
An overrunning snow event occurred with arctic air over the interior valley near Hyder. Based on observations of the Canadian station at Stewart, BC an estimated 12 inches of snow fell in the vicinity of Hyder from early on the 2/7 through that evening.
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: 156591, 156592, 156596, 156593, 156597.