An atmospheric river with an associated low center in the far western gulf brought a large slug of moisture into the northeast Gulf Coast staring early morning Friday into Friday evening. With the low center well to the southwest, a wedge of colder air held firm across the Yakutat area with northeast winds, thus keeping warming at bay and allowing a very heavy, wet snow to fall.
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.
An atmospheric river with an associated low center in the far western gulf brought a large slug of moisture into the northeast Gulf Coast staring early morning Friday into Friday evening. With the low center well to the southwest, a wedge of colder air held firm across the Yakutat area with northeast winds, thus keeping warming at bay and allowing a very heavy, wet snow to fall. Originally the warm air was supposed to push into the coast by around 9 AM or so, but the strength of the cold air wedge held firm until around 4 PM this afternoon.
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 Feb 9, 6:36 AM AKST, 5 hours 24 minutes earlier.
Southeast Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Juneau AK
636 AM AKST Wed Feb 9 2022
.SHORT TERM...A atmospheric river is aimed at the panhandle this
morning with widespread rain falling. Much of the rain has been
moderate to heavy since midnight, but the back edge has largely
shifted east of Yakutat with lighter rates happening there as of
early this morning. WSW winds will place the greatest rainfall
amounts (1-2 inches between 3am-6pm today) on those windward
facing slopes with lower amounts (0.5-1.25 inches) on the lee
side. Coinciding with the rain, widespread strong winds will be in
abundance across much of the panhandle through Wednesday evening.
A High Wind Warning has been issued for Skagway from noon
Wednesday through 6 AM Thursday morning as a strong S pressure
gradient will lead to persistent gradient flow channels, and
channeled locations like Skagway. Many of the inner channels will
experience small craft conditions through much of Wednesday, and
N Lynn Canal and Cross Sound along with the Outer Coastal Waters
will experience gale force winds during the timeframe.
The jet stream will veer from SW to NW through late Wednesday
night, cutting off the AR moisture plume. CAA will set in post
frontal under that NWLY flow and cause a transition to showers
this evening. Expect the showers to become more scattered through
the night and become mixed with snow. Accumulations should be
minor, but convective snow showers have a tendency to add up
quickly. Breaks in the clouds overnight will lead to surface
temperatures falling near or below freezing, so all the wet
surfaces from the daytime rain cloud make for a slick Thursday
morning. Winds will broadly diminish across the area through the
day on Thursday.
.LONG TERM.../Thursday through Sunday/...Thursday brings a much
needed relief in precipitation for the panhandle just in time for
our next system to arrive Friday. But before getting carried
away, more on Thursday. Early Thursday morning will likely see a
mix or all snow showers before precipitation cuts off completely.
Strong cold air advection will be establishing a colder airmass
over the Panhandle. Additionally, high pressure will begin to
build through the inside waters allowing for sky conditions to
break out. With cooler temperatures moving in aloft and clouds
breaking up, temperatures are expected to cool Thursday through
Thursday night. Day time highs in the mid 30s to low 40s are
expected followed by a sharp cool down over night with
temperatures in the mid 20s to low 30s.
Friday, clouds increase as high pressure becomes displaced to the
east and a low south of the Aleutians brings a front onshore.
Current modeling suggests that this system could process some
tropical moisture with it leading to decent precip accumulations
between 1-2 inches. The big question will be temperatures. With a
cooler airmass in place, precip will likely start as snow across
the north and central panhandle. Confidence is low at the moment
in exact snow amounts, but advisory-warning level amounts are
possible across the northern panhandle. This system does bring
snow levels up to around 2000-3000 ft as warm air transports into
the SEAK. With this, any precip that starts as snow should change
to rain through Friday night with the exceptions of Haines and
Klondike Hwys.
By early Saturday, the main moisture plume slides south and
diminishes. Through the day Saturday, a diminishing trend in
precip will occur. Temperatures warm through the weekend back into
the upper 30s to low 40s with minimal diurnal fluctuation.
Sunday, yet another low brings in more precip with rain looking to
be the predominate precip type.
...Sunday through early next week...
Model guidance diverges into early next week, therefore blended
mainly with WPC which continues the active weather pattern across
the region. Another low moves into the Gulf on Sunday; however low
confidence exists regarding the track; whether it moves towards
the NE Gulf Coast or towards Haida Gwaii. High confidence in a wet
and relatively warmer pattern continuing with renewed chances for
Atmospheric Rivers and heavy rain through mid next week. Lower
confidence in the exact details of each system this far out.
&&
.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...Flood Watch from noon AKST today through Thursday morning for
AKZ017>027-029.
Strong Wind through this afternoon for AKZ026.
Strong Wind through this evening for AKZ023-027.
Strong Wind through this evening for AKZ019-025.
Strong Wind through late tonight for AKZ022.
Strong Wind from noon AKST today through this evening for AKZ020.
Areal Flood Advisory until 9 AM AKST Thursday for AKZ028.
Strong Wind through this evening for AKZ028.
High Wind Warning from noon today to 6 AM AKST Thursday for
AKZ018.
Winter Weather Advisory until noon AKST today for AKZ018.
Strong Wind until noon AKST today for AKZ018.
Strong Wind from 3 PM AKST this afternoon through this afternoon
for AKZ018.
MARINE...Gale Warning for PKZ012-022-041>043-051-052-310.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ011-013-021-031>036-053.
&&
Ferrin/GFS
CC/CM
Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/JuneauPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
901 AM AKST WED FEB 9 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0845 AM FLOOD GUSTAVUS 58.41N 135.74W
02/09/2022 HOONAH-ANGOON AK DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
REPORT OF WATER OVER A ROAD NEAR MOUNTAIN
VIEW/PARK SERVICE ROAD DUE TO SNOW BLOCKING
CULVERTS. SALMON RIVER ALSO FULL BUT STILL
IN BANKS.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE JUNEAU AK
1023 AM AKST WED FEB 9 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0957 AM DEBRIS FLOW 8 N HYDABURG 55.33N 132.86W
02/09/2022 PRINCE OF WALES-HYDAK EMERGENCY MNGR
A LANDSLIDE WAS REPORTED THAT OCCURRED AT
MILE POST 4 OF HYDABURG HIGHWAY. THE HIGHWAY
AND ACCESS ROAD ARE CLOSED AS A RESULT OF
THE LANDSLIDE. THERE WERE NO INJURIES.
&&
JLC1 high wind, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Gusts up to 60 mph were reported at the PAGY ASOS in Skagway.
NWS employee estimated 8 inches of snowfall since midnight at 10:30 am. Snow continued to fall until accumulations reached 16 inches of heavy wet snow from this event.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 2022
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: 1011642, 1011641.