A stalled trough of low pressure brought windy conditions and heavy rains to Kodiak Island which caused high water and lowland flooding across the area.
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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 AFC wrote it up.
A stalled trough of low pressure brought windy conditions and heavy rains to Kodiak Island which caused high water and lowland flooding across the area.
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 Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 8, 4:50 PM AKST, 6 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Anchorage AK 450 PM AKST Sun Dec 8 2024 .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA (Days 1 through 3)... Temperatures below freezing with northerly winds this morning for the western Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage, and the Matanuska Valley slowly eroded throughout the day as southeastern winds interacting with terrain filtered warmer air westward. Portions of Anchorage ranged from 28 degrees at the Anchorage International to 46 degrees near south Anchorage. The prevailing south and easterly flow will continue bring about warming temperatures, especially for coastal locations that will see an increase in winds off the waters of the Gulf. Warmer air flowing over the cooler surface in some spots allowed for brief, light freezing rain in Soldotna and Kenai, then Anchorage this morning. Light, freezing rain has been reported this evening from Big Lake north through Willow. These are expected to be brief as dry air within a region of downsloping spreads northward. There is a good chance that precipitation falling during the overnight hours on the lee side of the mountains will be in the form of freezing rain with surface temperatures dropping below freezing overnight and warm air still above freezing aloft. Kodiak received ample rainfall (over 2 inches) since this morning. Rain rates have gotten lighter, but additional rain is expected to increase again overnight into Monday for Kodiak. An additional 2 to 5 inches of rain could fall for coastal communities from Whittier to Kodiak through Tuesday. Lesser amounts are expected farther east toward Cordova. Widespread gale-force winds, with a small core of storm-force winds for the Barren Islands, are expected along the front with ample moisture with this system. Again, warm southeasterly air looks to advect into Southcentral, so any locations near freezing initially will quickly warm into the 30s and 40s with snow levels again rising to 2,000 ft or higher by Monday. Turnagain Arm winds will also be on the increase, as well as winds at higher elevations, including the Anchorage Hillside where gusts 55 to 70 mph are possible overnight and Monday. Strong wind gusts approaching 45 to 60 mph area also possible for Whittier and Portage. The front weakens, slows, and stalls near Prince William Sound early Monday morning. However, a strong upper-level wave moving north into the Gulf will advect more moisture toward coastal Southcentral as a surface low spins up along the stalled frontal boundary and drives north toward Prince William Sound. This low will drive the front to the coast with a storm-force barrier jet developing from Cordova into western Prince William Sound. Any slight lull in the gusty winds from the initial frontal push late Sunday into early Monday will be short-lived as the low and front continue to push inland by Monday afternoon with a second peak of strong winds likely from Cordova to Whittier, Portage and Turnagain Arm. -TM/Rux .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHWEST ALASKA/BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS (Days 1 through 3)... The North Pacific low pressure system will continue northward into the southeastern Bering Sea this evening, continuing the warming trend and rainy weather for the Alaska Peninsula and Southwest Alaska. As of this afternoon, widespread and rapid warming has allowed temperatures to rise above freezing across Southwest Alaska, with the only freezing temperatures hanging on in parts of the Lower Kuskokwim Valley. As such, periods of freezing rain observed throughout this morning and early afternoon in Bristol Bay, the Kuskokwim Delta, and most of the Lower Kuskokwim Valley has concluded with precipitation fully transitioning to rain or tapering off. Areas still experiencing freezing rain in the Lower Kuskokwim Valley are expected to continue to warm throughout this evening promoting the transition to plain rain. The bulk of the precipitation associated with this system continues to head north out of the area as winds continue to turn southeasterly, promoting a strong downsloping signature on radar for much of Bristol Bay and the Kuskokwim Delta regions. A prolonged period of rain showers and snow showers at elevation remains possible throughout Southwest Alaska for the next several days as the current low continues to head north in the Bering through Monday and a new system approaches the Aleutians from the North Pacific by Tuesday morning. Gale force winds are expected to continue in the southeastern Bering through Monday morning with gusty winds for Bristol Bay through Kamishak Gap continuing into Monday afternoon. As another North Pacific low approaches the Aleutians by Tuesday morning, the prolonged period of southeasterly winds and warm pattern is expected to continue into midweek, although details regarding this next system remain uncertain given the substantial model spread in the track of the low. Models continue to trend towards a northerly track as the upper level ridge over eastern Alaska and Western Canada steers the low towards the Alaska Peninsula and southeastern Bering. This system is expected to bring another swath of gale force winds south of the Alaska Peninsula and in the southeastern Bering as well as gusty winds through Kamishak Gap once again for Bristol Bay. Widespread rain showers across Southwest Alaska will be possible through Wednesday morning, with the greatest rainfall amounts expected for the Alaska Peninsula and areas most susceptible to southeasterly upslope flow in southwest Alaska. Temperatures are expected to remain warm enough to keep precipitation as all rain through Wednesday morning, except for snow showers at high elevations. -JH && .LONG TERM FORECAST (Days 4 through 7: Thursday through Sunday)... On Thursday, a negatively-tilted trough extends east over Southwest Alaska and into the Gulf from a broad upper low over the far western Bering Sea. Enhanced lift provided by the trough and weak southerly flow will support light rain showers along the north Gulf coast, with potential for light snowfall for inland portions of southern mainland Alaska. The trough cuts off into a weak upper low that shifts into the eastern Gulf for Friday, focusing the best potential for precipitation in eastern Prince William Sound and the Copper River Basin. Meanwhile, cold air from the Interior filters south, trending temperatures down for the latter half of the week into the weekend. Out west, a longwave trough remains anchored near Kamchatka. This brings a strong gale to storm force low into the far western Bering for Thursday and Friday. Its front pushes to the Southwest coast by Friday, but there is significant uncertainty in precipitation type, with temperatures marginal either rain or snow are possible depending on solution. A ridge builds off to the east into the Gulf, trending precipitation chances down over Southcentral Alaska for the weekend. There are, however, indications in the model guidance that the front along the Southwest coast sweeps inland and brings another surge of moisture and precipitation into the southern mainland by Sunday, but there is significant spread in the areas that are most favored, with potential for both coastal and inland precipitation. Late in the weekend, a large storm or hurricane force low looks to approach the Aleutians, bringing moderate rainfall to the islands and the southern Bering. Quesada &&.AVIATION... PANC...A complex weather situation will persist around the airport into Monday. With winds at the terminal expected to remain mainly northwesterly through the night, temperatures will remain mild, but mainly below freezing. This was the cause of the freezing rain today with southeast winds aloft bringing in warmer air over the below zero surface temperatures in the northwesterly winds. This combination of northwest surface winds abruptly becoming southeasterly around 500 to 1000 ft will keep winds shear in the area through Monday morning. By early Monday afternoon strong southeasterly winds should push over the airport and both end the wind shear while turning any precipitation at that point to all rain. These winds should persist through much of Monday night and then diminish. &&
Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Anchorage AK
545 PM AKST Sun Dec 8 2024
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0528 PM Freezing Rain Big Lake 61.52N 149.95W
12/08/2024 M0.10 Inch Matanuska-Susitna AK NWS Employee
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TKSPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT National Weather Service ANCHORAGE AK 851 PM AKST Sun Dec 8 2024 AKZ145-090900- Susitna Valley- Including the cities of Talkeetna and Willow 851 PM AKST Sun Dec 8 2024 ...AREAS OF LIGHT FREEZING RAIN FROM WILLOW TO TALKEETNA THROUGH THIS EVENING... Very light freezing rain has fallen this afternoon and will continue to fall through this evening. There have been reports of slick conditions on the Parks Highway around Willow. Temperatures will remain below freezing through the night, thus slick conditions are likely to continue on untreated surfaces from approximately mile marker 60 north through Talkeetna. Please exercise caution if traveling in this area. For the latest road conditions call 5 1 1 or visit 511.alaska.gov.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Kodiak Airport reported 4.27 inches of rain which drove area rivers up, and flooded low lying roads, ditches and areas with poor drainage. The Terror River crested at 5.26 ft at 10:30PM AKST; this is 0.26 ft above minor flood stage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
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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: 1220895.