A low pressure system moved through the Gulf of Alaska in mid January. This system and associated cold front produced heavy snow in northern Lynn Canal, with strong winds along the coast in the southern Panhandle of Alaska.
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 low pressure system moved through the Gulf of Alaska in mid January. This system and associated cold front produced heavy snow in northern Lynn Canal, with strong winds along the coast in the southern Panhandle of Alaska.
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 14, 6:40 AM AKST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.
Southeast Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Juneau AK
640 AM AKST Thu Jan 14 2021
.SHORT TERM...A storm force low is moving into the gulf and
bringing a strong low level jet and associated moisture into the
panhandle today.
High wind warnings remain in place for Baranof Island and Western
Prince of Wales island. Moisture associated with this system will
likely stay as rain for most locations, the one significant
exception will be the Haines and Klondike Highways where a Winter
Storm Warning and Winter Weather Advisory have be issued.
Confidence is lowest concerning snowfall amounts at the higher
elevations of the highways. Models continue to show a wide spread
of snowfall amounts for these system due to significant
differences in snow levels. Have stayed similar to previous
forecast runs.
On Friday pressure will relax and moisture will continue to
stream across the panhandle as the parent low pressure system
moves north. Weak induced ridging will develop ahead of the next
weather system that will move into the area late Friday into
Saturday.
.LONG TERM.../Saturday through Thursday night/...The parade of
storms continues into the long range with multiple systems moving
into the gulf through the middle of next week. The period begins
with an upper low in the western Gulf Saturday afternoon. The
upper low then retrogrades northwest and becomes absorbed in the
upper flow as broad ridging and onshore flow dominate the eastern
Gulf Sunday through early Monday. By the middle of next week,
models and ensembles all indicate a potential pattern change as
upper level ridging builds over the gulf and much of the state
bringing an end to the parade of storms.
At the surface, a low moves northward towards Kodiak Island while
swinging a gale force front into the Panhandle on Saturday.
Southwesterly flow sets up behind the front through Sunday before
the next low moves up into the western gulf on Monday. After the
early week front pushes through, a building ridge in the gulf will
switch the overall flow around to the northwest. A weak wave
within the flow may pass by on Wednesday before a building high
moves into the area, ushering in the start of the much needed
pattern change.
The sensible weather pattern will continue to be wet, as is
typical for this time of the year, with locally heavy precipitation
associated with the passage of each frontal system. The general
onshore pattern will provide for continued warmer (relatively
speaking) air such that precip type will be predominantly rain for
lower elevations except the higher elevations along the Haines
and Klondike Highways. A drying trend begins mid next week as flow
becomes northwesterly and eventually offshore with the building
ridge. (First sunny day of the year?!)
Overall model agreement is good through Monday then begins to
diverges some by mid next week regarding the potential wave
passing by on Wednesday and the evolution of the building ridge in
the gulf. Despite some model differences, there is still good
agreement in the models and ensembles of the general weather
pattern. Used a blend of WPC/EC/GFS for winds and timing of the
fronts then trended towards WPC for the latter part of the long
term. Overall forecast confidence remains at or above average
through the period.
&&
.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...Strong Wind from 9 AM AKST this morning through this evening for
AKZ026.
High Wind Warning from 9 AM this morning to 9 PM AKST this
evening for AKZ023-027.
Strong Wind from 3 PM AKST this afternoon through this afternoon
for AKZ027.
Strong Wind from this evening through late tonight for AKZ023-
027.
Strong Wind from noon AKST today through this evening for AKZ017-
025.
Strong Wind from 9 AM AKST this morning through this evening for
AKZ022-028.
Strong Wind from 9 AM AKST this morning through this afternoon
for AKZ021.
Winter Storm Warning from 9 AM this morning to 9 AM AKST Friday
for AKZ019.
Winter Weather Advisory from 9 AM this morning to 9 AM AKST
Friday for AKZ018.
MARINE...Storm Warning for PKZ041>043-051-052.
Gale Warning for PKZ022-031-033>036.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ011>013-021-032-053.
&&
Suk/JDR
Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/Juneau3 high wind, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Multiple trees down across roads and powerlines in and around Sitka.
Tree down across road cutting power near Craig, AK.
Salmon landing weather station in Ketchikan reported a wind gust of 62 mph. Reports of trees down causing power outages as well.
Haines #2 Coop reported 7.5 inches of new snow in 6 hours.
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, January 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: 939719, 939720, 939721, 939722.