Bands of snow showers rotating around a low in the NW gulf caused snow showers to train over the Pelican area through the 1st. Showers were unstable enough to support thunderstorms along the coast.
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.
Bands of snow showers rotating around a low in the NW gulf caused snow showers to train over the Pelican area through the 1st. Showers were unstable enough to support thunderstorms along the coast.
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 Jan 31, 10:22 PM AKST, 1 hour 38 minutes earlier.
Southeast Alaska Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Juneau AK 1022 PM AKST Fri Jan 31 2020 .SHORT TERM...After the passage of a powerful low over the panhandle on Thursday, the weather for the weekend ahead looks to be more sedate for much of SE Alaska. The northern and central panhandle have fallen under the influence of a much weaker low currently in the northwest Gulf. Around this low, multiple bands of precipitation will be kicked up and pushed into the region in onshore flow. The dominant precip type will be snow. As these showers pass over, impacted areas can easily anticipate a quick one to two inches of fresh snow, with more possible in various locations if training of a band occurs. A cooling trend will also be in store for the forecast period as colder air wraps around the low and moves into the region. As the low meanders its way ESE across the panhandle Saturday night into Sunday, it will begin to weaken and get overtaken by high pressure to the north in the Yukon. This will decrease POP from north to south. The interaction between these two features will also create a decent pressure gradient between them over Lynn Canal. As of now, only have small craft advisory criteria advertised in the forecast, but gales over these parts late Saturday/early Sunday may not be out of the question. .LONG TERM.../Sunday through Thursday/...As of 10 pm Thursday. As the upper trof shifts east into Canada, and an upper ridge moves across the gulf and panhandle, expect that Sunday will give us a break in between weather systems. At the surface, high pressure will build across the Yukon Sunday morning increasing a northerly pressure gradient across the northern inner channels, likely increasing wind speeds through Lynn Canal. Colder air will also sink further south with 850 mb temperatures dropping to around -14 C. Although expecting some sunny skies during the day, Sunday will also be the coldest day of this period. This Sunday, it being February 2nd, is also a special day, as it will be Groundhog Day. With the sun out, there is a good possibility one might see his shadow. What will that mean for Southeast AK? Back to what we expect the weather to be like next week: our next weather system will actually be developing in the North Pacific over the weekend. While the parent low hangs out in the western Aleutians, a strong front will move across the gulf Sunday and into the E gulf late Sunday into early Monday. Currently anticipating the gale force front the approach the outer coast Monday morning. Precipitation ahead of the front will spread across the panhandle through the day Monday as multiple impulses, or shortwaves, will enhance precipitation, especially across the southern half of the panhandle. There is still possibility of strong upper level jet supporting a plume of moisture towards the southern panhandle, or possibly further south. The more challenging part of Monday's forecast will be much snow will fall before changing over to rain? This will depend on how quickly temperatures will rebound, along with other factors. Model thickness values keep snow over much of the panhandle through mid- morning, and perhaps some northern areas into the afternoon. Over- running snow with significant snowfall amounts is possible, although temperatures will warm rapidly with the wind shift to the southeast. After Monday, model agreement dissolves, although the overall pattern continues to look wet and warmer than normal for February. Southwesterly flow aloft will continue into mid-week with multiple waves moving across the gulf and towards the panhandle. Will keep likely precipitation going through Thursday. Overall forecast confidence is average. && .AJK Watches/Warnings/Advisories... PUBLIC...Winter Weather Advisory until 9 PM AKST this evening for AKZ017. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory for PKZ022-041>043-051>053. && GFS/DDH Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/Juneau
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
922 PM AKST FRI JAN 31 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0400 PM HEAVY SNOW YAKUTAT 59.55N 139.73W
01/31/2020 M10.0 INCH AK NWS EMPLOYEE
YAKUTAT WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE REPORTED 6 INCHES OF SNOW
BETWEEN 8 AM AND NOON FRIDAY, THEN ANOTHER 4 INCHES BY 4
PM.
&&
NAF1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Pelican COOP observer measured 11.6 inches of snow the morning of February 1st. There is uncertainty in the duration and timing of the snow showers, but they continued after as another 6.2 inches were measured the following morning.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 2020
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: 874380.