Frost and Freeze in Alaska, May 20, 2013

Name: Frost and Freeze in Alaska, May 20, 2013
Start: 2013-05-20T05:00
End: 2013-05-20T05:02
Location: Alaska

May 20, 2013 · NWS AJK · 1 event in 1 county or zone

For two cold, calm, and clear nights in a row, temperatures dropped below freezing to threaten Spring growth of sensitive plants.

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 AJK wrote it up.

For two cold, calm, and clear nights in a row, temperatures dropped below freezing to threaten Spring growth of sensitive plants.

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 Juneau, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 20, 4:53 AM AKST, 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 20, 4:53 AM AKST, 7 minutes before

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Event by event

1 frost/freeze. Local standard time, as filed.

Frost/Freeze, Glacier Bay

When: May 20, 5:00 AM AKST to 5:02 AM AKST
Where: Glacier Bay forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A trained spotter in Gustavus observed a minimum temperature or 27F on the morning of 5/20 around 0500 AKST.

What these are

Frost/Freeze: Frost or temperatures at or below freezing during the growing season, usually filed for crop damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, May 2013

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: 450620.