Unstable moist air moved onshore from the Gulf of Alaska creating snow showers. While most locations did not report significant snowfall, Yakutat experienced 8 inches and Sitka saw multiple hours of snowfall with a foot of snow from this event.
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.
Unstable moist air moved onshore from the Gulf of Alaska creating snow showers. While most locations did not report significant snowfall, Yakutat experienced 8 inches and Sitka saw multiple hours of snowfall with a foot of snow from this event.
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 1, 6:44 AM AKST, 7 hours 16 minutes earlier.
Southeast Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Juneau AK
644 AM AKST Wed Dec 1 2021
.SHORT TERM...The third and last in a series of lows will track
northward across the region today bringing wind and rain. The low
center will be deepening as it tracks over the outside waters west
of Sitka, then move NE over Cross Sound in the afternoon. In
coordination with the Ocean Prediction Center, have included a
short period of Storm Force (50kt) winds out of the SW on the
south side of the low in MZ42. A Special Weather Statement was
issued to highlight the timing of the wind shift and potential
impacts.
Snow levels are around 2000ft over the south this morning and
around 1000ft over the central panhandle. Expect the north to see
some fluctuations in snow levels through the morning and rates as
precip moves in could cause some mixing, but little accumulation
is expected during the first part of the day. Strong cold air
advection (CAA) is expected behind the front, which will help to
drive wind gusts down to the surface. The CAA will also cause a
change to showers which will transition to primarily snow showers
through Wednesday night. A separate low center over the north-
central gulf in conjunction with the cold air moving over the
warm ocean (ocean effect) will enhance showers through the night
and into Thursday, more on that below.
.LONG TERM.../Thursday through Saturday Night/ The mid-range
forecast begins with a vertically stacked low over the northern
gulf of Alaska. From Thursday through Friday, this area of low
pressure will weaken. The 500mb low will be absorbed into an
invading trough coming in from the north. The surface low tracks
eastward while fading out.
To simplify, the continued showery pattern continues for SE AK.
Only this time, ensemble average 850mb temps around the entire
panhandle for Thursday and Friday will range from at warmest -8C
in the south to -15C in the north. So, snow showers are much more
likely than rain/snow mix or rain showers.
But because of the showery nature, confidence for exact snowfall
amounts is low due to wide variability that showers create. So
overall, would expect a “1-4 inches of snow every 12-24 hours”
type of weather going into the weekend - just enough to keep us
busy but nothing super out of the ordinary for early December in
SE AK.
One exception would be Hyder where daily amounts could be higher.
/Sunday through Tuesday/ If there is a developing story for early
next week, it might center on a potential brief warm-up. Ensembles
build a ridge over the eastern gulf ahead of what could be a
strong front pressing east from the Aleutians. Inner Channel winds
flipping to southerly would support such a warm up. But with a
recent mean track of lows and triple point features along fronts
diving southeast, there still is potential to preserve the colder
air longer, especially across the northern Panhandle. This would
suggest lighter precipitation, but still snow. Thus, we have gone
more conservative with the advancing rain/snow line and keep it
stretched from Pelican to Tenakee to Angoon to Petersburg for now.
Depending on the strength of the front we could have small craft
southerlies through the Inner Channels early next week. Were this
to come to pass, we will likely be introducing rain to Juneau and
Gustavus as well. Brief it should be, as ensembles then push a
cold trough right back where we started, hinting at more snow
showers with rain/snow showers for the south into late next week.
&&
.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...Winter Weather Advisory from 3 PM this afternoon to 3 PM AKST
Thursday for AKZ017-020-022-023-025-026-029.
Strong Wind from noon today to 3 PM AKST this afternoon for
AKZ026.
Strong Wind until 3 PM AKST this afternoon for AKZ027.
Strong Wind from 3 PM this afternoon to 6 PM AKST this evening
for AKZ020-021-025.
Strong Wind from noon today to 6 PM AKST this evening for AKZ022-
023.
Strong Wind from 3 PM AKST this afternoon through this evening
for AKZ018-019.
MARINE...Storm Warning for PKZ042.
Gale Warning for PKZ012-021-022-041-043-310.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ011-013-031>036-051>053.
&&
Ferrin/GJS
Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/Juneau2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Trained spotter reported 8 inches of new snow in Yakutat.
Trained Spotter reports multiple locations of 12 inches around Sitka including Blue Lake.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2021
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: 1000164, 1000163.