Yakutat had heavy snowfall on 12/3 with 6 to 10 inches of new snow in showers. Impact was snow removal.
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.
Yakutat had heavy snowfall on 12/3 with 6 to 10 inches of new snow in showers. Impact was snow removal.
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 2, 2:43 PM AKST, 12 hours 17 minutes earlier.
Southeast Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Juneau AK
243 PM AKST Mon Dec 2 2019
.SHORT TERM...Ridging to the east over the Yukon has set up
southerly flow which has for the most part kept temperatures warm
enough at this point to maintain p-type as rain for most areas
which will continue into the evening. The lone exceptions continue
to be the Haines and Klondike Highways as one nears the border and
Hyder on the continental side of the coastal range. Snowfall rates
in Hyder earlier in the day prompted the issuance of a Winter
Storm Warning. Snow totals by the time the event slows down
considerably will be around 15-18 inches. Diurnals don't look to
be very strong tonight, but temperatures for some locations in the
central and northern panhandle may be able to fall low enough to
see some snow mix in, however not much in the way of accumulations
is expected for these areas.
Low pressure to the west continues to support a weakening pressure
gradient that is still providing gale force winds through the Gulf
waters. These winds should begin to slow in the next few hours
along the coast, but should continue out in the open waters which
will continue to push some pretty decent swells through the
forecast period. Further, several small craft advisory winds
exist through the inner channels which should begin to drop off in
a south to north fashion tonight. Funneling up through Lynn Canal
should continue into tomorrow, but will slow down enough that the
strong wind headlines for Haines and Skagway should not be
necessary after 12Z.
Tuesday night into Wednesday, the low will be weakening as it
moves toward the panhandle. This should slow down the
southwesterly winds enough to allow the colder continental air to
intrude in from the north and east. This set up should be good to
create some more widespread chances for accumulating snow, however
confidence in any accumulation forecast at this moment are fairly
low, mainly due to issues regarding ground temperatures,
anticipated rates, and mixing with rain.
Continued to rely on GFS in modifying PoP and QPF. Temps were kept
on a small diurnal scale through tomorrow before veering toward
MOS guidance for Tuesday night and Wednesday.
.LONG TERM.../Wednesday through Monday as of 10 pm Sunday/ A
weakening low will drift E from the NE gulf into the N-central
panhandle Wed into Wed night before dissipating near Juneau late
Wed night. After then, the model differences have decreased some,
but remain large enough to not make any confident or value added
changes to the forecast for Thu-Fri. Later on, looks like a
strong Aleutian low/+PNA pattern will evolve next weekend into the
following week, but important differences timing systems remain,
so ended up not making any significant changes to the long range.
Gradual cooling trend will continue Wed as westerly flow brings
in some modified cold air. Looking increasingly likely there
could be a period of accumulating snow across the N as low moves
onshore Wed afternoon and night. The stronger W winds for the
gulf will decrease Wed as the low responsible for them weakens.
After that, some colder air may try to move in from the N for
late week, but forecast confidence in this remains low attm due
to model differences. The development of the strong Aleutian
low/+PNA pattern by next weekend into the following week would
usually mean a return to warm and wet conditions, but as mentioned
before, confidence in the details is on the low side.
&&
.AJK Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
PUBLIC...Strong Wind until midnight AKST tonight for AKZ019.
Strong Wind through late tonight for AKZ018.
Winter Storm Warning until 9 PM AKST this evening for AKZ029.
MARINE...Gale Warning for PKZ012-013-022-042-043-052.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ011-021-031-033-034-041-051-053.
&&
JDR/RWT
Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/Juneau1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Yakutat had heavy snowfall on the morning of 12/3 with 6 to 10 inches of new snow in showers. Impact was snow removal.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2019
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: 867592.