Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 1 to 2, 2024

Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 1 to 2, 2024
Start: 2024-02-01T00:00
End: 2024-02-02T01:20
Location: Alaska

February 1 to 2, 2024 · NWS AJK · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS AJK wrote it up.

A N-S oriented stationary front set up over the central panhandle Wednesday January 31st with a tight temperature gradient between cold air to the west and very warm air over the southern inner channels. Snow fell along the front in a narrow band centered over Juneau, Angoon, and Kuiu Island. The front slowly shifted eastward through the following day, February 1st, with rain transitioning to snow over Petersburg and northern Prince of Wales Island.

What forecasters said that day

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, 3:55 PM AKST, 8 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 3:55 PM AKST, 8 hours 5 minutes before

Southeast Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Juneau AK
355 PM AKST Wed Jan 31 2024

.SHORT TERM...Northerly outflow is continuing to try and stall a
warm front pushing up from the south over the panhandle, leading
to an overrunning event. While the onset of precipitation was
pushed back slightly as a result of this, snow totals over the
central and southern panhandle for the warnings and advisories out
were not significantly impacted as well as the timing of heaviest
snowfall. Overall still expecting anywhere from 6 to 11 inches for
the far northern panhandle of Haines and Skagway, with higher end
more likely in Haines, especially out on the peninsula. For
Juneau, despite a delayed onset, snowfall totals through Thursday
afternoon are expected to be from 9 to 14 inches, with highest
rates in the overnight period. Due to the more North/South
orientation of this moisture plume, just a bit further west in the
Icy Strait corridor, snow totals are expected to be down around 4
to 6 inches and also cut off by around mid to late morning.
Further south on the warm side of the front in southerly flow,
rain will dominate.

Beyond this event, northerly outflow winds will continue with
widespread small craft conditions and some gales for the northern
inner channels before diminishing a bit Thursday. Similar story
for outside waters in the gulf.

.LONG TERM.../Friday through Sunday/...For the start of the
period, temperatures cool as a northerly outflow regime sets up
over the northern Panhandle due to the tightened pressure gradient
between an area of high pressure that will be centered over the
Canadian Yukon region and lower pressure to the south. This will
bring breezy conditions to the northern Inner Channels and
northeastern Gulf waters with winds peaking out at up to around 30
knot Small Craft Advisory values. This will usher in cold and dry
air at the surface in that area. Then, another frontal system
moves into the eastern Gulf and Panhandle region from the west for
Saturday into Sunday. Enough cold air will be in place over the
northern Panhandle for the precipitation to be snow. Up to Winter
Weather Advisory level amounts are possible in some areas of the
northern Panhandle due to adequate QPF / moisture supply
associated with that weather system in addition to the very
adequate cold air that will already be in place. Toward the end
of the Sunday period, the precipitation will begin tapering off as
the system begins to depart the area to the southeast. The
southern Panhandle should receive primarily rain with some snow
mixing in at times, primarily at night.

The deterministic models are in good agreement on the track of the
aforementioned frontal system and ensemble member spread is
relatively narrow for this time of year for the system for the
period.

&&

.AVIATION.../Through Thursday afternoon/...Marginal VFR conditions
will continue to deteriorate across Southeast Alaska for VIS and
CIGs as the next front pushes through as a south-to-north
streaming event. Near the surface, rain over the southern half of
the Panhandle with snow to the north. Biggest wild card will be
Sitka, where snow is currently falling with temperatures clearly
above freezing. Similar situation in Petersburg. Mechanical
turbulence and LLWS will persist through the period as well.

&&

.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...Winter Storm Warning until 3 PM AKST Thursday for AKZ318-319-325.
     Winter Weather Advisory until 3 PM AKST Thursday for AKZ320-321.
     Winter Weather Advisory until 4 PM AKST Thursday for AKZ324.
MARINE...Gale Warning for PKZ012-013-641-661>664-672.
     Small Craft Advisory for PKZ011-022-031>033-036-053-642>644-651-
     652-671.

&&

SHORT TERM...STJ
LONG TERM....JLC
AVIATION...Fritsch

Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/Juneau

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 31, 10:13 PM AKST, 1 hour 47 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Juneau AK
1013 PM AKST Wed Jan 31 2024

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1012 PM     Snow             Sitka                   57.05N 135.33W
01/31/2024  M3.5 inch        Sitka              AK   Trained Spotter

            Spotter reports 3.5 inches of snow.

&&

AMP

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, City and Borough of Juneau

When: February 1, 12:00 AM AKST to 1:00 PM AKST
Where: City and Borough of Juneau forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 58.417, -134.333 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began to fall in Juneau in the afternoon of January 31st and reaching warning criteria by 12am on February 1st, then another 5.6 inches was measured by 9am. Snow continued to fall until 1pm on the 1st with 7.7 inches measured for the day at the NWS office and 7 inches at the Juneau airport. This gave a total of around 14 inches of snow in less than 24hrs for this event that spanned January and February.

Heavy Snow, Admiralty Island

When: February 1, 12:00 AM AKST to 11:00 AM AKST
Where: Admiralty Island forecast zone
Reported by: Tribal Official
Coordinates: 57.948, -134.941 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The Angoon Community Association (tribe) measured 13 inches of snow that fell from mid-day on the 31st to just before lunchtime on February 1st. An estimated 6 inches fell by midnight on the 31st with the rest falling through the morning of the 1st.

Heavy Snow, Western Kupreanof Island and Kuiu Island

When: February 1, 12:00 AM AKST to 8:38 PM AKST
Where: Western Kupreanof Island and Kuiu Island forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 55.597, -132.803 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Trained spotter in Security Bay reported light snow fell on January 31st, but rates were below warning criteria. Snow continued to fall through the morning of the 1st with around 6 inches falling in a 12 hour period. Including snow from the previous day, the spotter measured 10.25 inches and was still snowing lightly at their 1144am observation time with a heavy snow load on trees. The nearest community of Kake continued to report snow until the 8pm hour, but no snowfall reports from that area.

Heavy Snow, Petersburg Borough

When: February 1, 11:30 AM AKST to February 2, 1:20 AM AKST
Where: Petersburg Borough forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 56.765, -133.193 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow began to fall at the Petersburg airport at 1130am on the 1st and the COOP there measured 6 inches of snow by 9pm. A trained spotter near 9 mile Mitkof Highway measured a total of 7.5 inches the next morning.

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2024 Every state in 2024 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, February 2024

Sources

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: 1160792, 1160795, 1160796, 1160797.