Arctic High pressure was persistent over the Yukon Territory on the evening of 11/16 causing a cold northerly outflow at our lowest levels. The high rapidly weakened as a weak low and front developed in the Gulf.
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.
Arctic High pressure was persistent over the Yukon Territory on the evening of 11/16 causing a cold northerly outflow at our lowest levels. The high rapidly weakened as a weak low and front developed in the Gulf. Overrunning aloft caused record heavy snow. Impacts were snow removal, otherwise no damage was reported.
...RECORD SNOW AMOUNTS FOR NOVEMBER 17 AND 18...
There were numerous daily COOP snowfall records across portions|of northern Southeast Alaska on November 17 and 18. Record|snowfall was recorded at the following locations:
Annex Creek recorded 11.7 inches on November 17, breaking the|previous record of 7.6 inches from 1959.
Juneau Lena Point near Juneau recorded 8.9 inches on November 17,|breaking the previous record of 5.8 inches from 2015.
Skagway recorded 5.5 inches on November 17, breaking the previous|record of 2.0 inches from 2009.
The Juneau Forecast Office recorded 10.8 inches on November 17,|breaking the previous record of 3.3 inches from 2003.
Downtown Juneau recorded 3.0 inches on November 17, breaking the|previous record of 2.5 inches from 1932.
The Snettisham Powerplant recorded 4.2 inches on November 17,|breaking the previous record of 1.5 inches from 2015.
Hyder recorded 15.0 inches on November 18, breaking the previous|record of 9.5 inches from 2006.
Hoonah recorded 7.0 inches on November 18, breaking the previous|record of 2.7 inches from 2015.
Pelican recorded 5.2 inches on November 18, breaking the previous|record of 4.5 inches from 2015.
Haines recorded 2.0 inches on November 18, breaking the previous|record of 0.5 inches from 2003.
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 Nov 16, 2:55 PM AKST, 6 hours 5 minutes earlier.
Southeast Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Juneau AK
255 PM AKST Thu Nov 16 2017
.SHORT TERM.../ through Saturday night / Current forecast
generally on track. The low is developing in the northern gulf as
expected with the upper level support crossing the Alaska Ranged
and Alaska Peninsula into northwest gulf. The snow for the
northeastern gulf coast should be beginning shortly. The new
solutions of the models have fairly good agreement on the low and
relative humidity features though it may be slowing everything
down between 1 and 3 hours. Lacking any significant key
indicators to suggest changes needed, forecast from late tonight
into Friday evening was unchanged. Will continue to monitor
through the event to adjust as needed.
The responsible low will track southeast and attract a low of the
eastern pacific that is being move northeast and then the two will
begin to interact and rotate about each other. Expect drying
conditions behind the first low from the northwest under a
surface ridge that develops and suppressing the showers. A cold
outflow redevelops for the Lynn Canal region through later
Saturday.
.LONG TERM.../Saturday through Thursday/...A significant winter
weather event will be just winding down at the start of this long
range forecast period. Even as this system clears the area to the
south and east, another developing weather system will be headed
out way. As of yesterday, it looked like this second low and
associated front would approach from the west. Model agreement is
good and are now depicting the low to drop southeast out of the
Bering Sea and cross the southwest interior of the state on
Sunday. The low itself and a majority of the frontal precipitation
will remain out over the gulf through Monday morning and at that
time model agreement diminishes significantly. Current preference
is for the ECMWF, which develops a triple point low on the front
over the eastern gulf and rotates the front north and east over
the panhandle. The Canadian NH is depicting a similar pattern, but
is not as strong with the development of the triple point nor the
associated front. Based on current snow versus rain predictors,
including 1000-8050 mb thickness values, 850 mb temps, 1000-500mb
thickness values, low level wind directions, and, of course
surface temperatures, precipitation from this second system will
at least start out as snow for all locations but the southern
zones 27 and 28. Potential is there for the snow level to retreat
north as far as the Icy Strait corridor by Wednesday morning due
to low level warm air advection from the south, but that is a
long time into the future and a lot can change between now and
then.
&&
.MARINE...With winds subsided after the last few days winds are at
small craft levels or less. Will see a narrow barrier jet band of
winds between Cross Sound and Yakutat Bay late tonight, that will
alter to more of and outflow from Cross sound on Friday. Expect
the outflow winds to redevelop Friday into Saturday
&&
.AVIATION...Expect deteriorating conditions due to snow to develop
tonight and last in Friday that will lower ceilings down to 3000
for less and likely to 1000 to 1500 feet on Friday with lower
visibilities in snow as well. Also as the frontal feature swing
across the southern panhandle on Friday low level wind shear is
also probable south of Frederick Sound.
&&
.AJK Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
PUBLIC...Winter Weather Advisory from midnight tonight to 4 PM AKST
Friday for AKZ026.
Winter Weather Advisory from 9 PM this evening to noon AKST
Friday for AKZ024.
Winter Storm Warning from midnight tonight to 9 PM AKST Friday
for AKZ025.
Winter Storm Warning from 9 PM this evening to noon AKST Friday
for AKZ022.
Winter Storm Warning from 9 PM this evening to 4 PM AKST Friday
for AKZ020-021.
Winter Weather Advisory from 9 AM to 9 PM AKST Friday for AKZ029.
Winter Storm Warning from midnight tonight to 4 PM AKST Friday
for AKZ019.
Winter Weather Advisory from 6 PM this evening to 6 AM AKST
Friday for AKZ017.
MARINE...Gale Warning for PKZ013-022-043-051.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ011-012-021-031>036-041-042-052-053.
&&
Bezenek/Fritsch
Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/Juneau5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Pelican COOP measured 7.9 inches new snow ending 0800 on 11/18. Most of the snow fell on the afternoon of 11/17. No damage or power outages reported. Impact was snow removal.
Storm total was 7.4 inches by 0800 on 11/18 at Hoonah. Most of the snow fell on the afternoon of 11/17. No damage or power outages reported. Impact was snow removal.
Haines Downtown measured 7.5 inches new snow, storm total at 0800 on 11/18. Mud Bay measured 10.3 inches new snow, storm total. Impact was snow removal. No damage or power outages.
NWS Forecast Office measured a storm total of 11.0 inches at 0800 on 11/18. Most of the snow fell during the evening of 11/17. Other totals around town ranged from 6 to 13 inches. No damage or power outages were reported. Impact was snow removal.
WSO Yakutat measured 14.0 inches new snow at 0800 on 11/18. Impact was snow removal with no damage or power outages reported.
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, November 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: 723126, 723730, 723116, 723129, 723115.