Alaska, 2009

Heavy Snow and High Wind in Alaska, November 11 to 12, 2009

November 11 to 12, 2009 · NWS AFC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

An strong front pushed through the south central region of Alaska that produced high wind along Turnagain Arm and the Anchorage hillside. Mchugh Creek and Glenn Alps reported wind gusts of 81 and 82 mph.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

An strong front pushed through the south central region of Alaska that produced high wind along Turnagain Arm and the Anchorage hillside. Mchugh Creek and Glenn Alps reported wind gusts of 81 and 82 mph. This front pushed ample moisture up into south central Alaska that produced heavy snow in the Susitna Valley. Chulitna reported a storm total of 16 inches of snow with this storm.

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 Nov 11, 5:00 AM AKST, 5 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 11, 5:00 AM AKST, 5 hours 30 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA
500 AM AKST WED NOV 11 2009

.DISCUSSION...
MAJOR STORM SYSTEM WORKING ITS WAY ACROSS ALASKA TODAY. PRECIPITABLE
WATER AMOUNTS IN THE WARM SECTOR ARE OVER 200 PERCENT OF NORMAL. A
STRONG JET (AND OBVIOUS JET STREAK OVER THE SOUTHEAST BERING SEA)
ALONG WITH VERY STRONG WINDS BEHIND THE COLD FRONT INDICATES
VIGOROUS CYCLOGENESIS. PLEASE SEE THE WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY BELOW.
THERE ARE ALSO SNOW ADVISORIES IN PUBLIC ZONES 111 AND 141. ALTHOUGH
HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED IN VALDEZ (A FOOT OR TWO POSSIBLE IN 24
HOURS)...THEIR ADVISORY CRITERIA IS SET TOO HIGH TO BE REACHABLE
EXCEPT IN EXCEPTIONAL EVENTS.

AS THIS FIRST SYSTEM EXITS THE AREA THURSDAY AFTERNOON...ANOTHER
SYSTEM CURRENTLY BREWING NEAR THE KAMCHATKA PENINSULA WILL ALREADY
BEGIN TO AFFECT SOUTHWEST ALASKA AND MOVE INTO SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA
THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. THIS SYSTEM ALSO PROMISES TO CARRY PLENTY
OF SIGNIFICANT WEATHER.

IT LOOKS LIKE THIS PROGRESSIVE PATTERN FINALLY BREAKS ON THE WEEKEND
AS A DEEP TROUGH SETTLES IN OVER ALASKA THAT WILL REMAIN IN PLACE
POSSIBLY THROUGH NEXT WEEK...THIS LOOKS LIKE IT TRANSLATES WELL ON A
NEGATIVE PHASE OF THE PNA (PACIFIC-NORTH AMERICA) PATTERN.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING 195.
         HEAVY SNOW WARNING 145.
MARINE...STORM WARNING 179 180 185.
         GALE WARNING 120 121 125 129 130 132 138 140 141 150
                     155 160 165 170 172.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

LUDWIG NOV 09

In the hours before

Local storm report, Nov 11, 9:18 AM AKST, 1 hour 12 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
918 AM AKST WED NOV 11 2009

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0910 AM     HIGH SUST WINDS  SE ANCHORAGE            61.22N 149.87W
11/11/2009  E0 MPH                              AK   DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

            MCHUGH CREEK NEAR THE SEWARD HIGHWAY REPORTED A GUST OF
            73 MPH AROUND 830 AM AKST.

&&

STEPETIN

Event by event

1 high wind, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When
November 11, 10:30 AM AKST to 1:00 PM AKST
Where
Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Measured
71 kt (82 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet

Heavy Snow, Susitna Valley

When
November 11, 2:00 PM AKST to November 12, 3:00 PM AKST
Where
Susitna Valley forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations

The Chulitna A-paid station reported a storm total of 16 inches of snow.

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alaska in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, November 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 196463, 196464.