A strong front moved up to the southern coast on the evening of 12/15. The kept cold air over upper Lynn Canal but also caused snow.
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.
A strong front moved up to the southern coast on the evening of 12/15. The kept cold air over upper Lynn Canal but also caused snow. The Haines Road got up to 17 inches of new snow, but the Klondike Highway got very little due to downslope winds. Impact was snow removal and poor driving conditions on the Haines Road. No damage was reported.
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 Dec 15, 2:53 PM AKST, 6 hours 7 minutes earlier.
Southeast Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Juneau AK
253 PM AKST Sat Dec 15 2018
.SHORT TERM.../Through Monday Night/Storm force front is
advancing on the panhandle today. Winds have already been gusty
in several locations with peak gusts reaching 45 mph so far in the
southern panhandle. The more east/west orientation of the
incoming front is preventing the highest winds from reaching
populated areas in the southern panhandle (terrain is blocking
most of it), but satellite derived winds do show a significant
area of 60 kt blowing out of dixon entrance and extending out into
the gulf. Gale force winds are also blowing out of Sumner Strait
near Cape Decision. A high wind warning remains up for Hydaburg
and Craig until 9 pm this evening. Farther north, the tight
pressure gradient produced by the gulf system is creating strong
NE outflow winds (gales in Lynn Canal and Cross Sound, and gusts
to 45 mph at Skagway) and a favorable scenario for mountain wave
winds to develop (gusts up to 60 mph observed in Downtown Juneau).
A High wind warning also remains up for downtown Juneau and
Douglas until midnight.
These winds are expected to continue through the evening and then
gradually diminish overnight into Sunday as the main system
weakens and moves north. Gusts to 50 mph likely for many areas
into late tonight. winds should drop below 25 kt by early mon for
most areas. Gusty winds return on Monday night for the southern
panhandle as a new low moves into the SE gulf. Few changes made
to the wind forecast as guidance is in decent agreement today.
Precipitation has just starting to move into the area from S to N
in the last few hours. Ptype is rain for many areas south of
Sumner Strait but north of that it is starting out as snow.
Temperatures are gradually warming up however so areas that start
out as snow from angoon south are expected to change to rain
somewhat quickly with low accumulations. More significant
accumulation expected farther north and at Hyder. Winter storm
warnings remain up for the Klondike Highway and Haines highway
through Sun afternoon and a winter weather advisory remains up for
Hyder as well. Little change from the previous forecast for precip
amounts.
.LONG TERM.../Monday through Saturday night/...Extended range
forecast begins with a large, negatively tilted upper trough
situated over the Panhandle or just slightly offshore. Weak upper
level ridging will displace the trough on Tuesday, and then be
displaced to the east in turn by a large digging upper trough by
Wednesday morning. This trough will spin up an upper low that will
act to keep the 300mb jet core pushed just south of the Panhandle
Wednesday night. A strong low level southerly jet will be
oriented along the long axis of the Panhandle and located over
the central inner channels on Monday morning. This feature will
weaken through the day but be replaced by an equally strong, if
not stronger, low level southerly jet by Tuesday morning.
At the surface, a weakening low will be moving inland vicinity
Prince William Sound Monday morning and a developing gale will be
located south of the Gulf between 140W and 150W. Weak low pressure
will extend across the Gulf from north to south in between these
two lows. As the first low continues inland and dissipates over
the southern interior, the second will continue on an easterly
track while intensifying. Somewhere southwest of Haida Gwaii, the
low will begin tracking north and approach Southeast Alaska from
the south. Model agreement with this low is still below average,
but there is consensus that this will be a weak gale. Changes to
pressure and wind grids Monday morning through Tuesday night
reflect this. Used a blend of ECMWF and the Canadian NH model for
pressure for Monday, then the ECMWF and WPC for Tuesday as this
represented the middle ground solution and best continuity with
the previous forecast. Used the Canadian model as a foundation
for winds on Tuesday, then modified WPC wind grids for Wednesday.
Showers left over from a system that will impact Southeast Alaska
in the short term period will still be in place through Monday
night. Used the National Blend of Models to depict this. By
Tuesday mid morning, precipitation from the front associated with
low number 2 will move in from the south to the north. This also
was well depicted by the National Blend. Warm air advection
associated with the front in the short term will push the
rain/snow line far enough north that only the far northern inner
channels will likely not transition to rain through Wednesday day.
Thee is a good chance that the snow line will advance south to
the Icy Strait corridor Wednesday night, allowing for a transition
back to snow in Juneau, Hoonah, and Gustavus. A cooling trend
late this coming week may allow the snow line to advance back
south to as far as Frederick Sound by next weekend.
WPC used for updated to pressure, wind, and PoP from Wednesday
onward. Overall forecast confidence is average.
&&
.AJK Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
PUBLIC...Strong Wind until midnight AKST tonight for AKZ026-028.
High Wind Warning until 9 PM AKST this evening for AKZ027.
High Wind Warning until midnight AKST tonight for AKZ025.
Strong Wind through Sunday afternoon for AKZ022-023.
Winter Weather Advisory from 6 PM this evening to noon AKST
Sunday for AKZ029.
Winter Storm Warning from 9 PM this evening to 4 PM AKST Sunday
for AKZ018-019.
Strong Wind until 9 PM AKST this evening for AKZ017-018.
MARINE...Storm Warning for PKZ022-041>043-051-052.
Gale Warning for PKZ012-013-021-031>036-053.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ011.
&&
EAL/Fritsch
Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/Juneau1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
At 0536 on 12/16, DOT observed 8 inches new snow from mp2 to the Haines border overnight. Haines Customs measured 17 inches new at 0800 12/16. Impact was snow removal and poor driving conditions. No damage was reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2018
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: 789585.