Heavy Snow, Lower Yukon Valley
- When
- December 18, 5:00 AM AKST to 9:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Lower Yukon Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- Public
Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 18, 2011
A 964 mb low just east of the Pribilof Islands at 1500AKST on the 17th moved into the southwest mainland of Alaska by 1500AKST on the 18th. Zone 215: Heavy snowfall was observed in parts of the lower Yukon Valley on the afternoon of the 17th into the morning of the 18th.
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 AFG wrote it up.
A 964 mb low just east of the Pribilof Islands at 1500AKST on the 17th moved into the southwest mainland of Alaska by 1500AKST on the 18th.
Zone 215: Heavy snowfall was observed in parts of the lower Yukon Valley on the afternoon of the 17th into the morning of the 18th. It was estimated by the city office in Russian Mission that 12 inches of snow fell.
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 Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 18, 4:38 AM AKST, 22 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 18, 4:38 AM AKST, 22 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 438 AM AKST SUN DEC 18 2011 .DISCUSSION... 966 MB LOW WEST OF NUNIVAK ISLAND AND 960 MB LOW OVER THE ALASKA PENINSULA WILL MERGE INTO A SINGLE 975 MB LOW WEST OF DALL POINT BY MID DAY MON. THE FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE ALASKA PENINSULA LOW WILL MOVE NORTHWARD UP THE WEST COAST TODAY AND TONIGHT...BRINGING A PERIOD OF SNOW TO MOST AREAS ALONG THE WEST COAST AND IN THE WESTERN INTERIOR. THE HEAVIEST SNOW AMOUNTS WILL BE ALONG NEAR THE NULATO HILLS IN AKZ215-AKZ216. GUSTY WINDS CONTINUING IN ALASKA RANGE PASSES TODAY...WILL LOCALLY BE NEAR ADVISORY LEVELS IN AKZ225 THIS MORNING. CURRENT MODELS IN AGREEMENT BRINGING ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE CENTER TO BRISTOL BAY OR THE SW AK MAINLAND BY TUE AFTERNOON... BUT IT IS EXPECTED TO FILL RAPIDLY THEREAFTER. A SHORT PERIOD OF SUB-ADVISORY GAP WINDS EXPECTED IN THE AK RANGE LATE MON NIGHT THROUGH TUE MORNING. A DUSTING OF SNOW POSSIBLE IN THE INTERIOR AS THE RAPIDLY FILLING LOW TRACKS NORTHEAST. NEAR THE END OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD...STRONG SYSTEM PROGGED TO MOVE INTO THE NRN GLFAK COULD BRING SOME OVERRUNNING SNOW TO THE SOUTHERN AND EASTERN INTERIOR SUN NIGHT AND MON. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FOR AKZ227. WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AKZ215. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ201-AKZ213-AKZ216. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ235-PKZ240- PKZ245. && RF DEC 11
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- 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 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2011
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: 351835.