A series of heavy snowfalls in the Kenai Peninsula lead to heavily loaded slopes on top of a weak layer from earlier in the season.
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 AFC wrote it up.
A series of heavy snowfalls in the Kenai Peninsula lead to heavily loaded slopes on top of a weak layer from earlier in the season.
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 Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 28, 5:09 AM AKST, 8 hours 51 minutes earlier.
Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Anchorage AK 509 AM AKST Sat Jan 28 2017 .ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS... A surface low in the Gulf of Alaska south of Yakutat continues to track north this morning while an associated occluded front stretches from the northern Gulf Coast south through the central Gulf. A cold upper level trough stretches from an upper low over the northern Bering, across southwest Alaska, over Kodiak Island and into the southwestern Gulf. A deformation band being stretched between the occluded front and the upper trough swinging in from the southwest, extends across the northern half of the Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage area and into the Susitna Valley. This has been bringing banded snowfall to the area during the overnight hours. Out west a frontal system is pushing onshore across the Kuskokwim Delta bringing some snow and blowing snow to that area. An upper level trough in the central Bering is rotating east and swinging a broad area of enhanced snow showers containing some isolated thunderstorms from the central Aleutians, across the eastern Aleutians and over the Alaska Peninsula. && .MODEL DISCUSSION... Models are in reasonable synoptic agreement through Monday. Forecast challenges include the handling of finer scale details including the mesoscale snow band over Southcentral Alaska through Saturday evening, an upper trough lifting through the western Gulf Sunday and the timing of an Aleutian frontal system as it pushes across the Alaska Peninsula and Southwest Alaska and into the western Gulf early next week. && .AVIATION... PANC...Snow bands will continue to move over the area bringing IFR and occasionally lower conditions. The general trend this morning will be for the more intense snow bands to drift north and east of PANC for a gradual lightening of the snow fall through midday but then briefly re-intensify mid-day as cold air advection ensues. Snow will quickly end this evening with the possibility of fog and stratus settling in tonight. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA (Days 1 and 2)... The deep low over the eastern Gulf will head inland near Yakutat this afternoon, with the bulk of impacts remaining east of the Anchorage forecast area, primarily over Southeast Alaska. Some light snow will spread across the Eastern Copper River Basin. Showers which formed along a leading trough ahead of this low advected across Western Prince William Sound, Anchorage, and portions of the Mat-Su overnight. As a high amplitude negatively tilted trough over the Western Gulf lifts northward and arctic air begins to filter across the Gulf and into Southcentral this morning, these showers will transition to one large band of steady snow. Snowfall thus far has been quite wet, but as low level temperatures cool expect it to become less dense (and fluffier). Expect the heaviest snow to fall from Anchorage to the western Mat-Valley to the southeastern Susitna Valley. Snowfall will generally be light, though as the colder air arrives there could be a brief period of heavier snow. Snow will taper off from south to north tonight as the upper trough exits. Aside from snow, the main impact will be wind focused along the area of strongest cold advection, from Southern Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay across the northern Gulf. Winds will quickly diminish tonight as a weaker short-wave moves in from the west. This is characterized by deep instability so expect showers and gusty winds with it. However, there is quite a bit of uncertainty in the track of this trough, so have used a broad-brush approach to the forecast for now. In any case, it will traverse the region quickly, so no one place will see much snow out of it. Look for the weather pattern to remain active as we head into early next week with a front approaching from the Bering Sea. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHWEST ALASKA (Days 1 and 2)... There is a 983 mb low located northwest of Nunivak Island with an associated trough swinging through the Kuskokwim Delta region this morning. This feature brings more snow to the Kuskokwim Delta with a brief period of blowing snow along the Kuskokwim Delta coastline this morning. Meanwhile, the trough moves northward, and exits the region by midday today. While, the Southwest Alaska region continues with onshore flow through the weekend. By Sunday morning an upper level shortwave moves into the Bristol Bay, and the Alaska Peninsula region. This brings another round of snow showers to the aforementioned area before the shortwave exits the region by Sunday afternoon. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS (Days 1 and 2)... The gale force low positioned over the northern Bering this morning tracks into the Chukchi Sea by Sunday morning. The next system is a gale force low dropping down off the Kamchatka Peninsula Saturday afternoon. The associated weather front moves through the Western Aleutians during the same time-frame before tracking into the Central Aleutians/Bering by Sunday morning. This brings warmer temperatures resulting in a wintry mix in the lower Bering. The upper levels have a weak shortwave moving eastward along the chain near Unalaska. Expect a slight chance of thunderstorms through Sunday coinciding with the shortwave in an unstable airmass. This shortwave moves east of Kodiak Island into the Gulf by Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, by Sunday midday a secondary low develops just west of the Pribilofs with gale force southerly winds through the Central Aleutians/Bering Sea region. By Sunday evening this low tracks near Saint Matthew Island with strong southerly gale force winds through the Eastern Aleutians/Bering extending northward into the Northern Bering Sea. This brings warm air advection which spreads farther north resulting in a wintry mix for the northern Bering, and all rain for the Eastern Aleutians/Bering Sea as we head into the Sunday evening time-frame. && .LONG TERM FORECAST (Days 3 through 7)... A pair of troughs will affect the entire forecast area Sun night into Mon. In the eastern domain, an eastward moving trough will bring snow to eastern Prince William Sound before exiting the region early Mon. In the west, a front associated with a Bering trough will make a windy and snowy landfall over Southwest AK beginning Sun night. Between these features will lie the western flank of an upper ridge. A disturbance moving along this western flank will bring another round of snow to Southcentral AK Mon afternoon. Beginning Mon night a second trough begins to consolidate over the central Bering. The associated front will bring more snow as it makes landfall over Southwest AK Tue. High pressure will then build over much of the Bering, effectively cutting off most precipitation through the end of the workweek. A front approaching the western Bering on Wed will become essentially stationary and bring strong wind to the western Aleutians Wed into Thu. Over the eastern domain south to southwest flow consolidates over the Gulf and a stream of moisture continues to aim at the Kenai and Prince William Sound through Tue. This will bring snow to those areas, with lesser amounts over the rest of the region. Precipitation will taper off on Wed as high pressure builds across mainland AK. Thu into Fri a strong gradient sets up along the north Gulf coast, with significant outflow winds developing into Fri. && .AFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PUBLIC...None. MARINE...Heavy Freezing Spray Warning 180 185. Gale Warning 119 120 130 131 139 141 155 165 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 178 179. && SYNOPSIS AND MODEL DISCUSSION...JR SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA...SEB SOUTHWEST ALASKA/BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS...PD LONG TERM...DS
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
1101 AM AKST SAT JAN 28 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1045 AM SNOW 5 S SPENARD 61.11N 149.92W
01/28/2017 M2.0 INCH AK PUBLIC
2 INCHES CURRENT STORM TOTAL
1055 AM SNOW BIG LAKE 61.52N 149.95W
01/28/2017 M6.0 INCH AK NWS EMPLOYEE
5.5 INCHES CURRENT STORM TOTAL
&&
DSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
1120 AM AKST SAT JAN 28 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1115 AM SNOW 1 N PALMER 61.61N 149.11W
01/28/2017 M3.0 INCH AK NWS EMPLOYEE
3 INCHES STORM TOTAL
&&
DSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
1206 PM AKST SAT JAN 28 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1200 PM SNOW EAGLE RIVER 61.32N 149.57W
01/28/2017 E7.0 INCH AK NWS EMPLOYEE
ESTIMATED 7 INCHES CURRENT STORM TOTAL
&&
DSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
1216 PM AKST SAT JAN 28 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1209 PM SNOW 3 SSE HOUSTON 61.58N 149.75W
01/28/2017 E8.0 INCH AK NWS EMPLOYEE
ESTIMATED 8 INCHES CURRENT STORM TOTAL
1209 PM SNOW WASILLA 61.58N 149.46W
01/28/2017 E8.0 INCH AK PUBLIC
MULTIPLE REPORTS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES STORM TOTAL BETWEEN
WASILLA AND HOUSTON.
&&
DSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
114 PM AKST SAT JAN 28 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1230 PM SNOW 2 NW FLAT TOP MOUNTAIN 61.12N 149.71W
01/28/2017 M6.0 INCH AK TRAINED SPOTTER
6 INCHES STORM TOTAL NEAR OMALLEY TRAILHEAD, CHUGACH
STATE PARK. ELEVATION 1400 FEET.
1230 PM SNOW 1 E RABBIT CREEK 61.08N 149.78W
01/28/2017 E4.0 INCH AK PUBLIC
3.5 INCHES STORM TOTAL.
&&
DSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
135 PM AKST SAT JAN 28 2017
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0133 PM SNOW 1 SSW PALMER 61.59N 149.12W
01/28/2017 E4.5 INCH AK NWS EMPLOYEE
ESTIMATED 4.5 INCHES STORM TOTAL.
&&
DS1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
Two snowmachiners triggered an avalanche near Snug Harbor, Alaska. One person escaped and was able to locate the other person, who was already deceased. This was reported in the Alaska Dispatch News.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalanche, Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns | 2017-01-28 | 29 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 2017
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: 670672.