Another in a series of weather systems moving up from the south along the outer coast caused strong winds and a couple of areas of heavy snow to SE Alaska. First, a strong occluded front moved onshore on the afternoon of Wed 2/3.
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.
Another in a series of weather systems moving up from the south along the outer coast caused strong winds and a couple of areas of heavy snow to SE Alaska. First, a strong occluded front moved onshore on the afternoon of Wed 2/3. As the front dissipated over land a gale force low developed SW of Dixon Entrance on a new front causing the wind and overrunning moisture on 2/4 and 2/5. No damage was reported, but snow removal operations were intensified on 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 3, 3:30 PM AKST, 14 hours 1 minute earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
330 PM AKST WED FEB 3 2016
.SHORT TERM...SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWING GALE FORCE FRONT MOVING
FROM THE EASTERN GULF OVER THE PANHANDLE THIS EVENING. THIS
WEAKENING FRONT IS ASSOCIATED WITH A LOW THAT HAS BEEN TRACKING
TOWARD KODIAK. GALE FORCE WINDS OVER THE GULF HAVE STARTED TO
DIMINISH WITH THE PASSING FRONT. FOR THE PANHANDLE WIND GUSTS FOR
THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE AND TERRAIN GAPS REACHED UP TO 40 MPH LATE
IN THE MORNING. A SECOND LOW MOVING UP FROM THE NORTH PACIFIC WILL
INTERACT WITH THE KODIAK LOW AND DEEPEN AS IT MOVES INTO THE
WESTERN AK GULF. THE FRONT EXTENDING FROM THIS LOW WILL BE BIT
STRONGER THAN THE CURRENT FRONT WITH GULF WINDS REACHING STORM
FORCE UNDER DEVELOPING BARRIER JET IN THE NORTHERN GULF. INNER
CHANNEL WINDS, ESPECIALLY EAST-WEST ORIENTED CHANNELS WILL PICK
UP TO GALE FORCE BY EARLY THURSDAY. SOUTHERN AND COASTAL PANHANDLE
WIND GUST WILL PICK UP TO 40 TO 50 MPH ON THURSDAY AS THE FRONT
MOVES OVERLAND AND PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS. EXPECT MORE OUTFLOW
WINDS ESPECIALLY FOR DOWNTOWN JUNEAU WITH GUSTS OF 40 TO 45 KTS.
WINDS WILL REMAIN HIGH FOR THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE AS A SECOND
WAVES MOVES UP DIXON ENTRANCE WHILE WINDS ELSEWHERE WILL BEGIN TO
DIMINISH IN THE AFTERNOON.
PRECIP WITH THE WEDNESDAY FRONT NOT AS HEAVY AS EXPECTED SINCE THE
FRONT SHEARED APART BIT MORE THAN EXPECTED. STILL COLD OVERCAST
WINTER DAY WITH THE RAIN SNOW LINE ALSO STAYING FURTHER SOUTH AS
WINDS STAYED NORTH THROUGH THE MORNING. AS TEMPERATURES WILL
REMAIN STEADY OR SLOWLY RISE OVERNIGHT BEHIND THE CURRENT FRONT
PRECIP WILL TRANSITION TO ALL RAIN EXCEPT FOR THE FAR NORTHERN
PANHANDLE. BIT MORE SHOWERY REGIME BETWEEN FRONTS SO MAY SEE SOME
CLOUD BREAKS AND POSSIBLE FOG FORMATION BUT AS THE SECOND FRONT
SHOULD BE RAPIDLY APPROACHING THIS WILL BE SHORT LIVED. FOR
THURSDAY THE FRONT HAS BETTER FETCH OF TOPICAL MOISTURE SO GETTING
SOME HEAVY RAIN TO THE SOUTH. WARM AIR ADVECTION THROUGH THE DAY
WITH TEMPS REACHING THE UPPER 30S TO MID 40S. STILL GETTING SHOW
FOR HYDER, HAINES AND SKAGWAY. AS THE NORTH WILL NOT GET THE BRUNT
OF THE FRONT UNTIL LATER THURSDAY EVENING SNOW ACCUMULATION ONLY
IN THE 1 TO 3 INCH RANGE, AND FOR HYDER DUE TO EXPECT WARMING SNOW
ACCUMULATION ONLY AROUND 4 INCHES EXPECTED.
MODEL STILL CONSISTENT HANDLING THESE SYSTEMS AND HAVE SHOWN ONLY
MINOR VARIATION FROM PREVIOUS RUNS AND FORECAST. LITTLE CHANGE TO
PRESSURE, WINDS AND POPS FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. DID NOT GET AS
WARM TODAY DUE TO THE DELAYED SHIFT IN WINDS SO CURRENT TEMPS ARE
ALREADY AT OVERNIGHT LOWS. TRICKIEST PART IS STILL SNOW LEVEL AND
QPF AMOUNTS. FORECAST CONFIDENCE IS AVERAGE.
.LONG TERM...MAIN ISSUES IN THE EXTENDED FORECAST REMAIN WAVE
DEVELOPMENT ON THURSDAY NIGHT OVER THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE AND
POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY RAINFALL EVENT SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. THE FRIDAY
THROUGH SATURDAY PERIOD WILL BE A LULL IN BETWEEN SYSTEMS WITH
DIMINISHING PRECIPITATION CHANCES AND SIGNIFICANTLY WEAKER WIND.
WAVE DEVELOPMENT ALONG THE FRONT MENTIONED IN THE SHORT TERM WILL
LEAD TO CONTINUED GUSTY WINDS OVER THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE THURSDAY
NIGHT. A 55-60 KT LOW LEVEL JET ASSOCIATED WITH THE WAVE WILL
RESULT IN GUSTS OF 45-50 MPH AT THE SURFACE. THESE WINDS WILL
QUICKLY DIMINISH LATE THURSDAY NIGHT AS THE WAVE LIFTS INTO
BRITISH COLUMBIA. FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WILL BE TRANSITION DAYS
WITH WEAK RIDGING BUILDING OVER THE PANHANDLE. A VERY WEAK
PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL RESIDE OVER SOUTHEAST ALASKA SO EXPECT
WINDS TO BE ON THE LIGHTER SIDE. PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL ALSO
BE ON THE DIMINISHING TREND FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY. THIS WILL BE
ESPECIALLY TRUE ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE PANHANDLE SATURDAY
NIGHT AS AN APPROACHING GALE FORCE FRONT TO THE SOUTH WILL
TRANSITION FLOW TO MORE OF AN OFFSHORE AND DRIER REGIME. STILL
KEPT 20-30% POP BUT EXPECT THIS TIME FRAME TO BE MAINLY DRY.
THE NEXT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER MAKER WILL BE A FRONT MOVING INTO THE
SOUTHERN PANHANDLE LATE SATURDAY NIGHT AND SPREADING NORTH THROUGH
THE DAY ON SUNDAY. THERE REMAINS MODEL DIFFERENCES ON THE EXACT
SPEED OF THIS FRONT WITH THE GFS MOVING THE FRONT NORTHWARD
QUICKER THAN THE ECMWF. BASED UPON NORTHEASTERLY FLOW EXPECTED
ACROSS THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE OPTED TO USE THE SLOWER SOLUTION AS
THIS WILL INHIBIT PROGRESSION OF THE PRECIPITATION INITIALLY. THIS
WILL BE ANOTHER WIND MAKER FOR THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE AND STRONG
WIND HEADLINES WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED AS WE GET CLOSER TO THE
EVENT. ADDITIONAL WAVE DEVELOPMENT ALONG THIS FRONT AND TAPPING
OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE WILL INCREASE THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAINFALL
INTO MONDAY. PLENTY OF MODEL DISAGREEMENT ON THIS HOWEVER SO HARD
TO GET INTO DETAILS AT THIS POINT. BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS THE
THREAT OF SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL IS THERE FOR LATE WEEKEND AND
EARLY NEXT WEEK. THREAT OF HEAVY SNOWFALL ALSO EXISTS WITH THIS
SYSTEM FOR THE HAINES AND KLONDIKE HIGHWAYS AS WELL AS THE HYDER
AREA INITIALLY. VERY WARM AIR ALOFT IS STILL POISED TO MOVE OVER
THE PANHANDLE IN ASSOCIATION WITH THIS FRONT RESULTING IN SNOW
LEVELS RISING SIGNIFICANTLY.
CONTINUED WITH A BLEND OF THE 12Z NAM/ECMWF THROUGH DAY 4 THEN
INCORPORATED THE LATEST WPC GUIDANCE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE
PERIOD.
&&
.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...STRONG WIND UNTIL 3 PM AKST THIS AFTERNOON FOR AKZ018-025-027-
028.
STRONG WIND FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING FOR
AKZ027.
STRONG WIND FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON FOR
AKZ025.
STRONG WIND FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON FOR
AKZ023.
STRONG WIND FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING FOR
AKZ028.
MARINE...STORM WARNING FOR PKZ052.
GALE WARNING FOR PKZ022-033-035-036-041>043-051.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ013-021-031-032-034-053.
&&
PRB/TPS
VISIT US AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/JUNEAU2 winter storm, 2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Haines Customs reported 10.5 inches at 7:40 am on 2/4 and another 9 inches on 2/5. |Storm total for the Haines Highway was 21.5 inches including 2 inches on 2/3. DOT snow clearing operations were intense. Downtown Haines only got a couple of inches of new snow.
Hydaburg AWOS measured gusts to 58 mph on 2/4. Cape Decision had measured gusts to 58 KT on 2/4. Lincoln Island had peak winds to 62 mph in Clarence Strait on the evening of 2/4. No damage was reported.
CZST reports a total of 18 cm (7 inches) in observations on 2/5. Hyder Post office estimated 4-6 inches at 1000 on 2/5. This new snow occurred in the early morning hours. No damage reported.
Lincoln Island had peak winds to 62 mph in Clarence Strait on the evening of 2/4. Annette ASOS observed gusts to 53 mph. Headlands possibly had much more wind. |No damage was reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 2016
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: 617490, 617492, 617491, 617493.