20. The warm front ahead of this system cause brief heavy snow for Haines and Lynn Canal.
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 storm force low to 964 MB moved to Kodiak on 2.20. The warm front ahead of this system cause brief heavy snow for Haines and Lynn Canal. 7 inches of new snow fell during the early morning hours both for downtown and Haines Customs. Higher amounts were estimated along the Haines Highway.
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 Feb 20, 6:58 AM AKST, 5 hours 2 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
658 AM AKST MON FEB 20 2012
.SHORT TERM...A LOW PRESSURE IN THE WESTERN GULF AND ITS
ASSOCIATED FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL BE THE MAIN FEATURE TO AFFECT OUR
WEATHER TODAY. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS AN LARGE WRAPPED UP
OCCLUSION WITH A PORTION OF THE FRONT ALREADY OVER THE PANHANDLE.
THIS IS CAUSING LIGHT SNOW TO FALL OVER THE CENTRAL PANHANDLE AND
RAIN IN THE KETCHIKAN REGION.
THE LOW IS WELL STACKED THROUGH THE MID LEVELS WITH A STRONG SWLY
JET. JET DYNAMICS WILL ENHANCE PRECIP RATES OVER THE
AREA...BECOMING HEAVY AT TIMES IN THE AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL SHIFT
FROM SELY TO SW BEHIND THE FRONT...FURTHER ENHANCING PRECIP RATES
OVER THE WEST FACING MOUNTAIN SLOPES.
WINDS ALONG THE FRONT WILL INCREASE TO STORM FORCE IN THE
OFFSHORE AREA AND GALE FORCE OVER THE OUTSIDE WATERS. SOME STRONG
GUSTS WILL ALSO SPREAD OVER THE LAND AREAS...UP TO 40MPH ALONG THE
SOUTHERN COAST AND UP TO 35MPH ELSEWHERE TONIGHT. THE PRESSURE
GRADIENT WILL TURN MORE N-S TONIGHT CAUSING SOUTHERLY WINDS TO
INCREASE TO GALE FORCE THROUGH THE N-S ORIENTED INSIDE WATERS.
THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING IN WARMER SURFACE TEMPERATURES THROUGH
THE DAY...CHANGING SNOW TO RAIN EVERYWHERE BUT THE NORTHERN
PORTIONS OF THE HAINES AND KLONDIKE HIGHWAYS. HAVE ISSUED A
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THOSE AREAS WHERE ABOUT 12 INCHES OF
SNOW IS EXPECTED TO ACCUMULATE THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING.
TEMPERATURES OVERNIGHT WILL REMAIN FAIRLY STEADY...IF NOT
INCREASE SLIGHTLY UNDER SOUTHERLY WAA.
UPDATED THE GOING FORECAST WITH A BIT OF THE GFS AND NAM12.
OVERALL MODELS WERE IN GOOD AGREEMENT. FORECASTER CONFIDENCE IS
ABOVE AVERAGE FOR EXPECTED CATEGORICAL PRECIP ALL DAY...BUT SLIGHT
BELOW AVERAGE FOR WIND SPEEDS OVER LAND. MAY SEE SOME HIGHER GUSTS
ALONG THE FRONT AND NEED ADDITIONAL STRONG WIND HEADLINES.
&&
.LONG TERM...A FAST MOVING PATTERN...UNDER A 160+ KT SW
JET...WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA THROUGH THURSDAY WITH A SERIES OF
SHORT WAVES MOVING THROUGH. THE INITIAL FRONT WILL BE MOVING OUT
OF THE AREA EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. A RIDGE BUILDS NORTH THROUGH
SOUTHEAST ALASKA ON TUESDAY AND SHIFTS EAST INTO CANADA BY
TUESDAY AFTERNOON. A SECOND LOW MOVES INTO THE EASTERN GULF
TUESDAY EVENING AND FORECAST TO CUT ACROSS CENTRAL SOUTHEAST
ALASKA TUESDAY NIGHT. ANOTHER FLAT RIDGE LIFTS INTO THE GULF AND
SOUTHEAST ALASKA ON WEDNESDAY FOR WESTERLY FLOW. A THIRD LOW
CURVES INTO THE NE GULF THURSDAY BUT...A TRIPLE POINT LOW ALONG
THE TRAILING FRONT DEVELOPS AND MOVES SOUTH OF THE AREA THURSDAY.
A SPLIT IN THE JET STREAM FORMS SOUTH OF THE ALEUTIANS ON FRIDAY
WHICH BEGINS TO AMPLIFY RIDGE OVER WESTERN GULF AND BEGINS TO
BUILD REX TYPE BLOCK AND PATTERN CHANGE FOR SOUTHEAST ALASKA BY
NEXT WEEKEND.
EXPECT A RATHER WINDY MORNING ON TUESDAY WITH SOUTHERLY PUSH
BETWEEN BUILDING RIDGE AND EXITING LOW. THIS IS SHORT LIVED THO AS
NEXT SYSTEM RACES ACROSS SE GULF TUESDAY NIGHT. EXPECT ANOTHER
ROUND OF SE GALES IN ADVANCE OF THE LOW SHIFTING TO A STRONG
WESTERLY BEHIND THE FRONT. WITH PERSISTENT SW FLOW OVER GULF A 20
TO 25 FOOT SW SWELL BUILDS INTO THE GULF. WITH SYSTEMS MOVING SO
FAST RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE NOT VERY LARGE ALTHOUGH PRECIP MAY BE
BRIEFLY HEAVY. FOR THE MOST PART THESE SYSTEMS ARE WARM EXCEPT
WHERE THERE IS ACCESS TO INTERIOR AIR SO MAINLY RAIN WITH
POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW NEAR INTERIOR PASSES.
WITH THE THIRD SYSTEM...TRIPLE POINT LOW PASSES SOUTH OF THE AREA
AND IS ABLE TO ENTRAIN COLDER AIR MASS OVER SE ALASKA AND THUS
BETTER CHANCE FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW ON THURSDAY. WINDS WITH THIS
SYSTEM STAY SOUTH AND OFFSHORE THE PANHANDLE AND HAS MORE OF A W
TO NW COMPONENT.
ONCE SPLIT IN JET STREAM FORMS ON FRIDAY RIDGE BECOMES MORE
AMPLIFIED AND WILL BEGIN TO SEE A TRANSITION TO A DRIER AND COLDER
PATTERN FOR SE ALASKA. BY SATURDAY HAVE NO PRECIP ACROSS THE AREA
WITH NORTHERLY GALES DEVELOPING THROUGH THE INNER CHANNELS. THIS
ALLOWS TEMPERATURES TO FALL BACK TO SEASONABLY COLD LEVELS IN THE
TEENS WITH HIGHS AROUND FREEZING.
HAVE REASONABLE CONFIDENCE IN MODELS THROUGH THE WEEKEND ALTHOUGH
THERE ARE DIFFERENCES IN TIMING AND INTENSITY OF INDIVIDUAL
SHORTWAVES. PREFERRED THE GFS HANDLING OF DEVELOPING RIDGE AND
USED FOR GRID UPDATES.
&&
.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 AM AKST TUESDAY FOR
AKZ018-019.
MARINE...GALE WARNING FOR PKZ012-013-022-031-033-036-042-043-051-052.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ011-021-032-034-035-041-053.
&&
HANNON/MM1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
A storm force low to 964 MB moved to Kodiak on 2.20. The warm front ahead of this system cause brief heavy snow for Haines and Lynn Canal. 7 inches of new snow fell during the early morning hours both for downtown and Haines Customs. Higher amounts were estimated along the Haines Highway.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 2012
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: 368397.