Blizzard in Alaska, January 30, 2009

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, January 30, 2009
Start: 2009-01-30T12:16
End: 2009-01-30T16:30
Location: Alaska

January 30, 2009 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A low in the northern Gulf of Alaska produced strong northwest wind across southern Cook Inlet. Snow along with the wind resulted in a Blizzard in the Homer and Kachemak Bay area.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS AFC wrote it up.

A low in the northern Gulf of Alaska produced strong northwest wind across southern Cook Inlet. Snow along with the wind resulted in a Blizzard in the Homer and Kachemak Bay area.

What forecasters said that day

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 Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 30, 5:00 AM AKST, 7 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 5:00 AM AKST, 7 hours 16 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA
500 AM AKST FRI JAN 30 2009

.ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS...

ALOFT...THE BAGGY UPPER LOW CURRENTLY OVER SOUTHCENTRAL IS WEAKENING
AS ANOTHER STRONGER SHORTWAVE IS DIGGING SOUTHWARD OVER WESTERN
ALASKA...KODIAK...AND INTO THE NORTHERN GULF OF ALASKA. THIS
SHORTWAVE BRINGS THE BEST FORCING FOR ASCENT OVER THE SOUTHWEST
COASTLINE AND TOWARDS THE NORTHERN GULF TODAY AND THIS EVENING.
STRONG RIDGING REMAINS OVER WESTERN NORTH AMERICA...BUT WILL BEGIN
MOVING EASTWARD AS THE AFOREMENTIONED UPPER LOW BECOMES ENTRENCHED
OVER THE STATE. NORTHERLY FLOW WITH ORIGINS OVER THE NORTH POLE
CONTINUES TO PUSH COLD AIR TOWARDS THE WESTERN ALASKA COASTLINE AND
THE AKPEN.  WEAK RIDGING REMAINS ACROSS MOST OF THE BERING SEA...WITH
A CLOSED LOW BEGINNING TO STRENGTHEN AND TRACK JUST TO THE SOUTH OF
THE ALEUTIAN CHAIN.

AT THE SURFACE...THE SURFACE LOW THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
PRECIPITATION OVER SOUTHCENTRAL THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS IS CURRENTLY
MOVING OVER PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND.  A SIBERIAN RIDGE EXTENDS ACROSS
THE BERING SEA AND INTO SOUTHWEST ALASKA AND THE AKPEN. A COMPLEX
DOUBLE-BARRELED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO DEVELOP SOUTH OF THE
ALEUTIANS. A WEAK 1006 MB LOW IS LOCATED NEAR SHEMYA.

.MODEL DISCUSSION...

MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT FOR THE FIRST SEVERAL DAYS. THE LOW NEAR
PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND SLOWLY WEAKENS OVER THE NORTHERN GULF AND
DISSIPATES SAT. IN THE WEST THE DOUBLE LOW CONSOLIDATES SOUTH OF
DUTCH HARBOR SAT AFTERNOON. A TRIPLE POINT LOW DEVELOPS TO THE EAST
AND MOVES INTO THE NORTHERN GULF SUN AND THEN MOVES INLAND EARLY MON.
IN THE FAR WEST A FRONT FROM A KAMCHATKA LOW MOVES ACROSS THE WESTERN
AND CENTRAL ALEUTIANS SUN INTO MON. FOR CONVENIENCE THE FORECAST
LEANS TOWARD THE GFS SOLUTION.

.SHORT TERM FORECAST...

IN THE WEST...LIGHT SNOW AND SNOW SHOWERS WILL PERSIST OVER THE
WESTERN AND EASTERN ALEUTIANS THROUGH THE WEEKEND...WHILE DRY
CONDITIONS WILL ACCOMPANY THE RIDGING OVER THE CENTRAL ISLANDS. AS
THE KAMCHATKA FRONT MOVES OVER THE WESTERN ISLANDS SUN...SNOW WILL
CHANGE TO RAIN...AND GRADUALLY MOVE EAST ON MON.

FOR SOUTHWEST AK...SNOW SHOWERS ALONG THE COAST AND AK AND ALEUTIAN
RANGES WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH DURING THE WEEKEND. DRYING CONDITIONS
WILL PERSIST INLAND DURING THE SAME PERIOD.

SOUTH AND EAST OF THE AK RANGE...LOW PRESSURE SLOWLY WEAKENING OVER
THE NORTH GULF COAST WILL KEEP SNOW SHOWERS OVER MUCH OF THE AREA
TODAY AND TONIGHT...AND THEN EAST OF THE TALKEETNAS AND KENAI
MOUNTAINS ON SAT. BY SUN SNOW SHOWERS WILL BE LIMITED TO THE WRANGELL
MOUNTAINS AND WILL PERSIST INTO MON.

.LONG TERM FORECAST...

IN THE WEST...WIND AND RAIN WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE ALEUTIANS INTO
MID WEEK...WITH A MIX FOR THE PRIBILOFS. SOUTHWEST AK WILL HAVE
SNOW...POSSIBLY MIXING WITH RAIN BY MIDWEEK. SOUTHEAST OF THE AK
RANGE WILL BE DRY UNTIL THE KAMCHATKA FRONT BRINGS SNOW...MAINLY TO
COASTAL AREAS...BY MIDWEEK.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...NONE
MARINE...GALES...120 132 138 140 141 150 155 170 172 175
         STORMS...130
         HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY..121 129 130 132 138 140 141 150 155
160 165 170 172 179
FIRE WEATHER...NONE

DS/CC JAN 09

Event by event

1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Kenai Peninsula

When: January 30, 12:16 PM AKST to 4:30 PM AKST
Where: Kenai Peninsula forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS

What these are

Blizzard: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, January 2009

Sources

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: 143585.