A strong low pressure system moving over the Bering Sea approached the Kuskokwim Delta Coast between November 13th and 14th. This caused strong offshore winds to develop as snowfall moved into the Kuskokwim Delta ahead of the low, leading to blizzard conditions developing along the coast on mainly 11/14.
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 strong low pressure system moving over the Bering Sea approached the Kuskokwim Delta Coast between November 13th and 14th. This caused strong offshore winds to develop as snowfall moved into the Kuskokwim Delta ahead of the low, leading to blizzard conditions developing along the coast on mainly 11/14.
The low also produced a very brief period of strong southwesterly winds gusting as high as 86 mph across the eastern Aleutians as the center passed to the north early on the morning of 11/14. The strongest gusts recorded near Unalaska were likely due to a combination of terrain funneling of southwesterly winds combined with pressure rises as the low was starting to pull to the north of the eastern Aleutians.
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 Nov 13, 4:19 AM AKST, 9 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Anchorage AK 419 AM AKST Wed Nov 13 2024 .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA (Days 1 through 3: Wednesday through Friday evening)... An upper-level trough situated over western Prince William Sound this morning will continue to move east through the Copper River Basin this afternoon. The shortwave is interacting with a weakening surface low south of Cordova, which is allowing moisture to be pulled northward toward Cordova and points north. Widespread light snow over the Copper River Basin will continue into the early afternoon hours before ending as the trough exits the region. An additional 1 to 2 inches of snow is possible from Glennallen south along the Richardson and Edgerton Highways. For Thompson Pass, persistently strong gap winds through the pass will allow for blowing snow to continue for the next several hours. Some brief ridging will follow, setting up for a quiet Wednesday night across the region. Wednesday night will be quite cold with temperatures dropping below zero for the Copper River Basin and the Susitna Valley. Temperatures could fall to the single digits in the Anchorage Bowl and the Kenai Peninsula. The tight pressure gradient and cold air advection will allow for gusty winds to remain in Resurrection Bay, Passage Canal, Valdez Narrows, and Thompson Pass through Thursday morning. By Thursday morning, a front attached to the strong low in the eastern Bering will move into the Western Gulf and across Kodiak Island with rain and gusty winds. The front will then move to the northern Gulf by Friday morning. As the front tracks northeast, precipitation will overspread the region from Cook Inlet and the Mat-Su valleys west into Prince William Sound. With plenty of cold air in place ahead of the front, precipitation will start as snow. The uncertainty in the forecast will be the orientation of the front as it moves into Prince William Sound and whether the expected strong winds around Whittier and Portage pull in enough warm at near the surface to change snow to rain late Thursday night or early Friday morning. Right now, it looks like just enough warm air might make into coastal locations from Homer to Seward, Whittier, and Cordova for a changeover to rain followed by some light snow accumulations. For the Cook Inlet region, places from Ninilchik to Nikiski and into southern and western Susitna Valley may see several inches of snow accumulation through Friday. For Anchorage and the Mat Valley, a southeasterly wind aloft may limit the amount of moisture spilling over the coastal mountains, with only around an inch of snow possible. For Portage Valley and Turnagain Pass, the combination of snow and wind, at least initially, may produce a period of blowing snow. Several inches of snow is also possible for Valdez and Thompson Pass with this system. A new surface low will develop along the front somewhere near Seward Friday morning. As this low moves toward Prince William Sound, the gusty southeasterly winds will quickly wind down and shift back to the northwest. This may allow a band of snow to redevelop over Cook Inlet and the Anchorage Bowl for late Friday into Saturday with light snow accumulations as the storm begins to move east and the upper-level trough lifts north of the region. -TM && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHWEST ALASKA/BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS (Days 1 through 3)... The next low pressure system arrives today, entering the southern Bering Sea over the Andreanof Islands this morning and crossing just south of the Pribilof Islands tonight. High end gales and storm force winds will make their way across the Central and Eastern Aleutians and the marine areas surrounding the southern Alaska Peninsula. Models have been inconsistent over the last few days regarding the track of this low as it approaches Southwest Alaska and have only recently started consolidating towards the southerly track, pushing the low near the Western Capes/Kuskokwim Bay by early Thursday afternoon. Some model discrepancies remain by Thursday afternoon, especially for the Greater Bristol Bay area, whose potential for snow and/or blowing snow concerns will be heavily dependent on the low track. The Kuskokwim Delta coast and Nunivak Island look particularly susceptible to blizzard conditions at worst and blowing snow concerns at best, while inland areas towards Bethel are less likely to see blizzard conditions but still likely to see some blowing snow. The Western Capes are in a sweet zone where they may stay warm enough to be all rain or a rain/snow mix, which will help negate blizzard/blowing snow concerns. Higher concerns, storm track willing, will be areas impacted by Kamishak Gap winds, including Dillingham north to Koliganek and east to Kokhanok, who may see some blowing snow Thursday morning. Snow will spread inland into the lower Kuskokwim Valley by Thursday afternoon. Snow accumulations of 6 to 10 inches are possible between early Thursday morning and early Friday afternoon. && .LONG TERM FORECAST (Days 4 through 7: Saturday through Tuesday)... By the start of the weekend, the triple-point low formed from the Bering/North Pacific low will be centered over the northern Gulf of Alaska. Heavy precipitation will persist along the Gulf coastline, ranging from the eastern Kenai Peninsula to Prince William Sound. Light snowfall will also occur over interior Southcentral before dissipating over most locations by Sunday afternoon. Portions of Southwest and the eastern Aleutians will see periods of snow through Sunday night as a few weak shortwaves pass over. In addition, a compact shortwave low will move over the western and central Aleutians on Sunday, producing gale-force winds and another round of precipitation for the chain. The low will move eastward before situating itself over the southern Gulf by Tuesday afternoon. The big story for next week will be the potential for a significant drop in temperatures over mainland Alaska. Behind the triple-point low will be a digging trough that will bring frigid air over the area. Current guidance is suggesting low temperatures on Monday and Tuesday to drop below zero, with areas over the Copper River Basin and Kuskokwim River valley potentially dropping past -10. Continue to follow for updates as we get closer to this event. &&.AVIATION... PANC...Some vicinity fog may linger through the morning hours on Wednesday as it advects southward over the Knik Arm. Otherwise, VFR conditions and light winds will persist. &&
1 blizzard, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
An AWOS site in Tununak recorded 1/4SM visibility in snow and blowing snow with northerly winds gusting between 40 and 55 mph between 9:45 AM AKST and 5:05 PM AKST 11/14/24. Area webcams along the Kuskokwim Delta Coast also showed very poor visibility in blowing snow during daylight hours on 11/14.
The DPLA2 C-MAN station in Unalaska recorded a wind gust of 86 mph at 7:04 AM AKST 11/14/24. The Unalaska AWOS also recorded a gust to 83 mph at 7:16 AM AKST on the same morning.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, November 2024
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: 1226452, 1226453.