A strong low developed over the southwestern Gulf of Alaska and moved northeast across the panhandle in to northern British Columbia. Very strong southerly winds (60 to 80 mph gusts) were associated with the front as it moved over the southern half of the panhandle on the night of the 29th.
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 strong low developed over the southwestern Gulf of Alaska and moved northeast across the panhandle in to northern British Columbia. Very strong southerly winds (60 to 80 mph gusts) were associated with the front as it moved over the southern half of the panhandle on the night of the 29th. One to three feet of snow fell over the northern Lynn Canal region with the low passage. A strong band of trailing snow showers impacted the north central panhandle with up to a foot of snow as well into the night of the 30th.
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 28, 12:33 PM AKST, 3 hours 27 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
1233 PM AKST WED JAN 28 2009
.SHORT TERM...COMPLEX FEATURES IN THE AK GULF PROVIDING A
COMPLEX FORECAST FOR SE AK. PARENT LOW OVER THE ALEUTIANS WITH
FRONTAL BANDS OVER THE AK GULF TRACKING PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE
ENTIRE PANHANDLE. EARLIER CYCLOGENESIS AT THE TRIPLE POINT HAS
NOT BEEN DEVELOPING AS MUCH AS WAS EARLIER ANTICIPATED. SNOW FROM
FREDERICKS SOUND NORTH, A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW ALONG THE COASTAL
REGIONS AND SOUTH CENTRAL PANHANDLE AND ALL RAIN SUMNER STRAIT
SOUTH. COLDER AIR IS BEING MOVED OUT A BIT SLOWER THAN
ANTICIPATED KEEPING SOME OF THE NORTH CENTRAL REGION AS SNOW
LONGER THAN ANTICIPATED, BUT HAVE SEE SOME RAPIDLY INCREASING
TEMPERATURES. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR PAYA WAS TERMINATED
EARLY AS WINDS SHIFTED TO THE SOUTH TRANSITIONING FROM SNOW TO A
RAIN SNOW MIX. SKAGWAY WIND GUSTS INCREASED TO ADVISORY LEVELS
WITH THE RESULTING PRESSURE GRADIENT FROM THE RIDGE REMAINING
OVER THE PANHANDLE AND LOW PRESSURE OVER THE YUKON.
AS THE RIDGE CONTINUES TO TRACK EASTWARD AND WARM FRONTAL BANDS
CROSSING OVER THE REGION STILL EXPECTING A WARM UP FORM WED NIGHT
INTO THURSDAY. SHOULD SEE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ZONES BECOME ALL
RAIN OVER NIGHT WITH ONLY THE NORTH ZONES REMAINING MOSTLY SNOW.
COLD AIR LINGERING OVER HAINES WILL KEEP SNOW LONG ENOUGH FOR
ADVISORY LEVEL ACCUMULATION BUT AS THEY TRANSITION TO A RAIN SNOW
MIX EXPECTING AMOUNTS TO BE LOWER THAN WARNING CRITERIA. A LONG
FETCH OF MOISTURE TRACKING UP FROM THE PACIFIC WITH THE JET WILL
PROVIDE AMPLE RAIN FALL FOR THE REGION WHICH WHEN MIXED WITH THE
EXISTING SNOW PACK WILL CAUSE SOME ISSUE WITH DRAINAGE AND WATER
ON ROADWAYS.
AS THE WARM FRONTAL BANDS AND A 65 KT 850 MB LOW LVL JET TRACK
OVER THE PANHANDLE FROM SOUTH THE NORTH THURSDAY NIGHT WIND GUSTS
ALONG THE SOUTHERN COAST WILL PICK UP TO ADVISORY LEVELS. WIND
GUSTS NEAR POINT ALEXANDER WILL ALSO NEAR ADVISORY LEVELS BUT
WITH THE SOUTHERLY DIRECTION WILL KEPT FROM MOVING INTO THE REST
OF THE ZONE.
USED A BLEND OF THE NAM12 WITH GFS MIXED IN FOR POP AND
PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS. FORECAST CONFIDENCE IS ONLY FAIR WITH
CHANGES TO THE SNOW LEVEL AND HIGH QPF COULD GET SOME HIGHER SNOW
AMOUNTS OVER THE NORTH CENTRAL REGION.
.LONG TERM...MODELS IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT ON THE LONG WAVE
PATTERN THROUGH NEXT WEEK. THEY SHOW A SOMEWHAT PROGRESSIVE
PATTERN WITH A SERIES OF TROFS MOVING THROUGH THE AREA OVER THE
NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL KEEP ACTIVE WEATHER GOING OVER THE AREA
DURING THIS TIME...AND TEMPERATURES WILL BE UP AND DOWN THROUGH
THE PERIOD...BUT IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE ANY EXTREME TEMPS WILL OCCUR.
OF COURSE...THIS WILL MAKE PTYPE FORECAST VERY PROBLEMATIC AS IT
WILL DEPEND ON EXACT TRACK OF SYSTEMS...AND HERE THE MODELS HAVE
SOME DIFFERENCES.
THE MAIN SYSTEM OF CONCERN EARLY IN THE LONG RANGE WILL BE A
DEVELOPING LOW OVER THE ERN GULF LATE THU. MODELS DIFFER SOME ON
THE TRACK/SPEED/STRENGTH OF THE LOW. THE 12Z NAM AND UKMET ALONG
WITH THE 00Z ECMWF WERE CLOSE ON THE TIMING AND TRACK WITH SOME
SMALL DIFFERENCES ON STRENGTH. THE GFS WAS BY FAR THE
STRONGEST...AND UNUSUALLY THE FASTEST MODEL. WENT WITH A 12Z NAM12
AND 00Z ECMWF BLEND FOR THU NIGHT INTO FRI TO HANDLE THIS
LOW...AND THE FOLLOWING TRANSITION TO COLDER AIR MOVING IN FROM
THE W FRI. COULD SEE HEAVY RAIN OVER THE INNER CHANNELS FROM PAJN-
PAOH AREA SWD THU NIGHT. MAY NEED WIND ADVYS FOR MUCH OF THE SAME
AREA AS WELL DURING THAT TIME. ONCE THE LOW JUMPS INLAND EARLY
FRI...COLDER AIR WILL MOVE IN AND TRANSITION PRECIP TO
SHOWERS...BECOMING MAINLY SNOW SHOWERS BY THE AFTERNOON.
FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE PERIOD...FROM FRI NIGHT ONWARD...THE GRIDS
WERE LEFT AS IS DUE TO THE MODEL DIFFERENCES ON INDIVIDUAL SYSTEMS
FURTHER OUT. ADDED IN DAY 8 GRIDS BY USING THE 00Z ECMWF.
.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...WIND ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO MIDNIGHT AKST TONIGHT
FOR AKZ027.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 PM AKST
THURSDAY FOR AKZ019.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT AKST TONIGHT FOR AKZ018.
MARINE...GALE WARNING FOR PKZ036-041>043-051.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ012-033>035-052.
PRB/RWT6 heavy snow, 3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Snow showers moving onshore after a low had moved into central British Columbia persisted overnight. A public spotter report in Hyder of 14 inches of snowfall over the interior valleys.
A band of heavy snow moved north over the area overnight.
1008 PM Heavy snow 6 NE Skagway 59.54N 135.21W|01/29/2009 M10.0 inch AK CO-OP observer
10 Inches of snow fall from 4 pm to to 10 pm. 3 inches fell | between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm
0600 AM HEAVY SNOW 6 NE Skagway 59.54N 135.21W|01/30/2009 M11.2 INCH AK CO-OP observer
Reported 24 hour snowfall total of 11.2 inches with most| of the snow occurring on the evening of the 29th.
Bands of heavy snow moved north across the area from the evening to the following morning. Haines CO-OP reported an estimated 6 inches due to melting and rain overnight.
Local storm reports:
0735 PM Heavy snow 40 WNW Haines 59.46N 136.49W|01/29/2009 M4.0 inch XXX XX CO-OP observer
4 inches of snow at Haines Customs in last 2 hrs.
0700 AM Heavy snow 38 NW Haines 59.63N 136.21W|01/30/2009 M32.0 INCH AK CO-OP observer
Haines customs Co-op reported a storm total of 32 inches | that occurred overnight.
A strong front moved across the panhandle overnight with very gusty winds of 60 mph with some to 80 mph between 3 am and 4 am AKST the 30th. The storm knocked out power in the Ketchikan area briefly overnight. Alaska State Ferry LITUYA, a 180-foot vessel, broke free from its mooring in Metlakatla, Alaska, was adrift in Port Chester, and had grounded on Scrub Island.
A strong front moved across the panhandle overnight with very gusty winds to 64 mph at Hydaburg at 11:56 pm the 30th. There were several spotter reports as well with gusts of 50 to 60 mph. Reports of a few trees down on the road.
A strong front moved across the panhandle overnight with very gusty south winds to 64 mph recorded by the Sitka ASOS at 9:53 pm and 10:53 pm AKST. Similar winds were likely found all along the coast of Baranof Island.
Snow showers moving onshore around a low in the northern Gulf of Alaska after a frontal passage early in the evening persisted to the early morning hours. Hoonah CO-OP reported a snowfall of 9.7 inches.
Snow showers moving onshore around a low in the northern Gulf of Alaska after a frontal passage early in the evening persisted to the early morning hours. Pelican CO-OP reported 9.0 inches of snow.
Snow showers moving onshore the Southeast Alaska panhandle after a frontal passage early in the evening persisted to the early morning hours. Snow fall accumulations varied from near 5 inches to 8.5 inches of snow for a 12 hour period. A spotter at South Shelter Island and the Juneau Airport both reported 6 inches of snow. A coop south of town received 6.8 inches and Snettisham Power station reported 8.5 inches.
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, January 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: 151830, 151990, 151989, 151837, 151844, 151847, 151860, 151862, 151859.