A low about 300 miles south southwest of the Queen Charlotte Islands was nearly stationary on 3/1 and weakened. An occluded front moved northward through Southeast Alaska also weakened and dissipated during the night of 3/2 over the 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 low about 300 miles south southwest of the Queen Charlotte Islands was nearly stationary on 3/1 and weakened. An occluded front moved northward through Southeast Alaska also weakened and dissipated during the night of 3/2 over the Panhandle.
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 Mar 1, 2:12 PM AKST, 6 hours 49 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
212 PM AKST SUN MAR 1 2009
.SHORT TERM...MORNING SATELLITE LOOP SHOWS A WEAKENING LOW IN
THE NORTHERN GULF WITH ITS ASSOCIATED TRAILING TROUGH MOVING
NORTH JUST WEST OF YAKUTAT BAY. PERSISTING HIGH PRESSURE OVER
WESTERN YUKON CONTINUES GENERATE TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER THE
NORTHERN PANHANDLE WITH GUSTY WINDS ACROSS THE SKAGWAY AND HAINES
AREAS. WILL NEED TO BRING THE CURRENT WIND ADVISORY FOR
SKAGWAY...BEGINS AT 9 PM THIS EVENING...EARLIER TO AROUND 3 PM
THIS AFTERNOON. A DEVELOPING LOW IN THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC PUSHES
AN OCCLUSION TOWARDS THE QUEEN CHARLOTTES WITH ITS TRIPLE POINT
HEADING TO WEST OF DIXON ENTRANCE. SNOW BEGAN OVER
KETCHIKAN...ANNETTE AND HYDER AREAS BY MID MORNING. THIS SNOW
EVENT WILL TURN TO RAIN AS WARMER AIR MOVES INTO THE AREA THIS
AFTERNOON WITHOUT ANY SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATION. MODELS ARE IN
FAIR AGREEMENT WITH THE LOW IN THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC TRACKING
SLOWLY NORTH INTO THE SOUTHEAST GULF THROUGH LATE MONDAY NIGHT.
WILL USE THE NAM12 SOLUTIONS TO MAKE FINE TUNES OVER THE
INHERITED GRIDS.
THE NORTHEAST PACIFIC LOW WILL PLAY A MAJOR ROLE FOR SOUTHEAST
ALASKA WEATHER TONIGHT AND MONDAY. AN INVERTED TROUGH AHEAD OF
THE INCOMING OCCLUSION WILL MOVE NORTH ACROSS THE PANHANDLE COAST
THROUGH LATE TONIGHT. THE OCCLUDED FRONT WILL KEEP ITS TRIPLE
POINT MARCHING NORTH ACROSS THE DIXON ENTRANCE THIS EVENING AND
FARTHER NORTH ACROSS THE CENTRAL PANHANDLE THROUGH MONDAY
MORNING. MODERATE ISENTROPIC LIFTING IS EXPECTED WHILE THE TRIPLE
POINT TRAVELS NORTH ACROSS THE CENTRAL PANHANDLE. EXPECT 3 TO
6 INCHES OF SNOW ALONG THE SNOW CORRIDOR FROM SITKA TO JUNEAU.
WILL ISSUE SNOW ADVISORY FOR TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING.
JUNEAU AND VICINITY MAY RECEIVE A BIT HIGHER SNOW AMOUNT MONDAY
MORNING.
AS THE LEADING EDGE OF THE FRONT MOVES FROM SOUTH ACROSS DIXON
ENTRANCE...WIND WILL PICK UP ALONG THE OUTER COAST OF HYDER ZONE
THIS EVENING. WILL ISSUE WIND ADVISORY FOR HYDER ZONE FOR THIS
EVENING.HIGH PRESSURE OVER WESTERN YUKON WILL WEAKEN AND MOVE
EAST BUT ANOTHER HIGH PRESSURE OVER ALASKA INTERIOR WILL TRACK
EAST INTO THE WESTERN YUKON. THIS WILL MAINTAIN TIGHT NORTHEAST
PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE...INCLUDING
YAKUTAT...THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. WILL ISSUE WIND ADVISORY FOR
NORTHERN ZONES. GALE WILL CONTINUE ACROSS GLACIER BAY AND
NORTHERN LYNN CANAL TONIGHT.
.LONG TERM...THE REMNANTS OF INVERTED TROF OVER THE PANHANDLE
WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN AND MOVE OFF SHORE AS THE PARENT LOW
SOUTHWEST OF QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLAND CONTINUES TO WEAKEN AND MOVE
TO THE SOUTHEAST. THE SNOW IN THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN PANHANDLE
AND RAIN IN THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE WILL TAPER OFF ON TUESDAY AS
MIDDLE AND UPPER LEVEL NORTH PACIFIC RIDGE BUILDS BACK TOWARDS THE
NORTHEAST GULF OF ALASKA. IN THE LOW LEVELS A HIGH MOVING THROUGH
THE YUKON AND INTO NORTHERN BC WILL BRING WEAK OFF SHORE FLOW.
WINDS REMAIN THROUGH LATE THURSDAY AND INTO FRIDAY AS THE NEXT
SYSTEM DEVELOPS IN THE NORTHERN GULF OR SOUTHERN ALASKA AND PULLS
A STRONG SHORTWAVE TROF OVER THE PANHANDLE.
CONSIDERABLE SPREAD EXISTS IN THE MODELS BY FRIDAY FOR POSITION
AND STRENGTH OF THE NORTH PACIFIC HIGH AND CONSEQUENTLY FOR
SYSTEMS DEVELOPING UPSTREAM. OPTED TO NOT INTRODUCE LARGE CHANGES
INTO THE GRIDS FOR DAY 6 AND BEYOND BY UPDATING INHERITED GRIDS
WITH LATEST HPC GUIDANCE. FOR THE TOMORROW NIGHT PERIOD THROUGH
DAY 4 I OPTED TO BLEND INHERITED GRIDS WITH 12Z NAM12 AS THIS
PROVIDED NICE CONTINUITY WITH MONDAYS SYSTEM AND BLENDED WELL WITH
SHORT TERM HAND OFF. 12Z NAM INITIALIZED WELL AND IS HANDLING THE
DEVELOPING GRADIENT IN THE NORTHERN ZONES WELL. A NUDGE FROM
INHERITED GRIDS TO HPC GUIDANCE WAS MADE FOR DAY 4 TO DAY 6 GRIDS.
.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 12 PM AKST
MONDAY FOR AKZ021-023>025.
WIND ADVISORY FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 AM AKST MONDAY FOR
AKZ020-022.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO MIDNIGHT AKST TONIGHT
FOR AKZ029.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 9 AM AKST MONDAY FOR
AKZ019.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 12 PM AKST MONDAY FOR AKZ018.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 12 PM AKST MONDAY FOR
AKZ017.
MARINE...GALE WARNING FOR PKZ011-012-051.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ013-021-022-031-032-035-036-041>043-
052.
&&
SJA/CCC5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The coop observer in Hoonah reported that a snowfall of 6.8 inches essentially fell in 9 hours time. As of 8 am the morning of the 3rd another 7.4 inches of snow had fallen. Based on nearby observations the snow ended at midnight on 3 March, which leads to a 24 hour total (midnight to midnight) of 14.4 inches of snow.
The coop observer at Hidden Falls reported a total of 7.5 inches of snow fell by 5 pm on 2 March. Based on a nearby observation location at Angoon, the snow started around around midnight and began to taper off during the afternoon of the 2nd.
Haines coop observer reported a total snowfall of 10 inches. A spotter near Haines reported 7 inches in 9 hours as of 5 pm the 2nd of March.
A spotter near Gustavus reported 8 inches of snow in 5 hours at 5 pm on 2 March. A total of 10 inches in total for the event. A Gustavus coop observer the morning of the 3rd reported a total of 7.5 inches.
A belated spotter report...at 8 pm... 12 inches of snow had fallen by noon on the 2nd and a total of 13 inches. At 3 pm the coop in Elfin Cove reported 7.9 inches of new snow had fallen. The Pelican coop reported a total of 10.4 inches on the morning of the 3rd of which all the snow had fallen during the day time hours of the 2nd.
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, March 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: 159036, 159048, 159024, 159030, 159044.