On the night of January 13, very strong arctic high pressure was building over the interior of AK. This change caused the arctic front to move from Lynn Canal all the way to Dixon Entrance by the morning of the 14th.
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.
On the night of January 13, very strong arctic high pressure was building over the interior of AK. This change caused the arctic front to move from Lynn Canal all the way to Dixon Entrance by the morning of the 14th. This rapid puch lifted warmer moist air over the southern Panhandle causing heavy snow, particularly around Ketchikan. one explanation for the highly variable amounts was a sort of lake effect from Clarence Strait.
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 Jan 13, 5:57 AM AKST, 7 hours 30 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
557 AM AKST FRI JAN 13 2012
.SHORT TERM...THE LATEST SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS A LOW PRESSURE
SOUTH OF PWS WITH SNOW SHOWERS ROTATING AROUND INTO THE EASTERN
GULF AND OVER SE AK. THE HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE PANHANDLE IS
PRODUCE SOME GUSTY WINDS OVER THE FAR NORTHERN INNER CHANNELS
ALONG WITH HIGH GUSTS NEAR STRONG SHOWERS ALONG THE COASTAL
AREAS. THE SNOW SHOWERS WILL SLOWLY DISSIPATE FROM NORTH TO SOUTH
THROUGH TONIGHT AS THE UPPER AND SURFACE LOW DRIFTS SE. SNOW
AMOUNTS WILL RANGE FROM 2 TO 4 INCHES FROM THE SNOW SHOWERS
THROUGH TONIGHT WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS OVER THE SOUTHERN THIRD
AND COASTAL LOCATIONS.
THE SURFACE LOW WILL BE NEAR DIXON ENTRANCE BY LATE TONIGHT
WHILE THE UPPER LOW WILL BE CENTERED OVER THE SOUTHERN THIRD. AS
THE LOW TRACK SE A THE UPPER LEVEL FLOW WILL BACK AROUND TO THE
NW AS A UPPER HIGH BUILDS OVER WESTERN AK. THERE WILL BE SOME
ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS LEFT OVER THE FAR SOUTHERN AREAS WITH
CLOUDS DECREASING AND BECOMING MOSTLY CLEAR TO PARTLY CLOUDY BY
LATE TONIGHT OVER THE NORTHERN HALF.
A SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE YUKON TODAY AND THEN
SLIDE OVER THE NORTHERN THIRD OVER THE PANHANDLE THROUGH LATE
TONIGHT. THIS HIGH WILL INCREASE THE WINDS FROM THE NORTH ALONG
WITH ADVECTING COLDER AIR OVER THE REGION. TEMPERATURES WILL
REMAIN MOSTLY STEADY THROUGH MOST OF THE DAY BUT AS THE SKIES
CLEAR OUT AND THE NORTHERLY WINDS INCREASE TEMPS WILL TUMBLE INTO
THE LOW TEENS OVER THE NORTHERN HALF AND MID TO UPPER 20S OVER
THE SOUTHERN HALF. THE WINDS WILL SWITCH TO THE NORTH OVER THE
NORTHERN HALF LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THEY WILL INCREASE TO GALES
OVER THE FAR NORTHERN AREAS WITH GUSTS RANGING FROM 50 TO 60 KT
FROM INTERIOR PASSES OVER THE NORTHERN GULF AND NEAR CROSS SOUND
AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS. THE SOUTHERN HALF WILL SEE THE
WINDS INCREASE FROM THE NORTH BUT GENERALLY BE NEAR SMALL CRAFT
CRITERIA WITH LIGHTER NORTH WINDS OVER THE FAR SOUTHERN AREAS.
LAND AREAS WILL SEE THE WINDS DECREASE FROM THE SE/SW THIS
MORNING AND INCREASE FROM THE NNE THROUGH TONIGHT. THERE WILL BE
STRONG WINDS GUSTS NEAR PAGY WITH LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS SOUTH
OF HAINES AND NEAR PAYA WITH HIGHER GUSTS NEAR INTERIOR PASSES.
THE CENTRAL INNER CHANNELS WILL SEE THE WINDS INCREASE WITH
HIGHER GUSTS MAINLY IN EXPOSED AREAS. THE JUNEAU AREA WILL SEE
WINDS INCREASE FROM THE NNE THROUGH TONIGHT WITH GUSTS TO 35 MPH
DEVELOPING NEAR INTERIOR PASSES AND DOWNTOWN JUNEAU BUT THESE
WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE INTO SAT.
THERE IS ABOVE AVERAGE FORECAST CONFIDENCE FOR THE NEXT
24 HOURS.
&&
.LONG TERM...LONG RANGE MODELS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH A
WEAKENING UPPER LEVEL SHORTWAVE TROUGH ACROSS THE EASTERN GULF AND
SOUTHEAST ALASKA MOVING EAST AS A STRONG UPPER HIGH AMPLIFIES
ACROSS THE EASTERN BERING SEA THROUGH LATE SUNDAY. THIS UPPER HIGH
WILL CONTINUE TO ENHANCE THROUGH LATE MONDAY THEN BEGIN
RETROGRADING TO THE WEST. THIS SYNOPTIC PATTERN WILL INVITE ARCTIC
AIR MASS DRIFTING SOUTH FROM NORTHERN CANADA. THE NAM AND ECMWF
MADE A GOOD CONSENSUS AND WERE USED TO MAKE SOME COSMETIC TOUCHES
OVER THE INHERITED FORECAST PACKAGE THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT.
THEN USED THE GFS AND HPC FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE LONG TERM
PERIODS.
AFTER THE WEAKENING LOW OVER THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE MOVING
SOUTHEAST OUT OF THE AREA...STABLE ATMOSPHERE WITH STRONG
SUBSIDENCE UNDER OFFSHORE FLOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE FORECAST
DOMAIN THROUGH MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK...MAKING THE FORECAST MORE
PREDICTABLE. GENERALLY SPEAKING...DRY...COLD AND WINDY WEATHER
WILL CONTINUE TO DOMINATE THE EASTERN GULF AND THE ALASKAN
PANHANDLE. A SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT HAS BEEN POSTED FOR ALL
ZONES FOR UPCOMING COLD AND WINDY CONDITIONS. THE MEAN UPPER LEVEL
JET REMAINS SOUTH OF 40N THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THIS SUB-PRESSING
STORM PATTERN CHANGES WITH THE GFS...BRINGING A LOW CLOSE TO THE
SOUTHERN PANHANDLE LATE THURSDAY NIGHT INTO FRIDAY.
PERSISTING STRONG OFFSHORE FLOW WILL PRODUCE FREEZING SPRAY
ACROSS THE NORTHERN INNER CHANNELS AND YAKUTAT BAY ON
SATURDAY...BECOMING HEAVIER AND SPREADING SOUTH AND OUT ACROSS THE
OUTSIDE WATERS THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. NORTHERN LYNN CANAL WILL
INITIALLY SEE A STORM FORCE WINDS THEN MOSTLY SOLID GALE WILL
CONTINUE ALONG WITH MOST OF OTHER MARINE AREAS. MAY NEED A HIGH
WIND WATCH FOR THE NORTHERN MOST PANHANDLE...ESPECIALLY FOR THE
KLONDIKE AND HAINES HIGHWAYS...BUT DECIDED TO GO WITH STRONG WINDS
WORDING AT THIS TIME AND INITIALLY CUTOFF THE HEADLINE TIME
THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT. TAKU WINDS WILL ALSO BE LIKELY TO OCCUR
FROM LATE SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK.
&&
.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...STRONG WIND FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT FOR
AKZ019-020-025.
STRONG WIND UNTIL 9 AM AKST THIS MORNING FOR AKZ018.
STRONG WIND FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH LATE SUNDAY NIGHT FOR
AKZ018.
MARINE...GALE WARNING FOR PKZ011>013-022.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ021-031-032-034-041>043-051-053.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY DUE TO SEAS FOR PKZ052.
&&
ABJ/AHN1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
A spotter near Ketchikan measured 13 inches of rapidly accumulating new snowfall on the 13th with another 6 inches overnight in snow showers. Other areas around Ketchikan had highly variable amounts some of which were only a couple of inches.
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, January 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: 358279.