Heavy Snow — Copper River Basin, Alaska

2022-10-11 to 2022-10-13 · Copper River Basin, Alaska

Event narrative

Multiple Alaska 511 (Department of Transportation) reports of Very Difficult status for highways in the Copper River Basin during and towards the end of heavy snowfall, mainly on October 12th. A road closure was required at one point due to a multi-vehicle accident near Tolsona. A Snotel in McCarthy reported 2.2 inches SWE and 23 inches snow accumulation in the span of less than 24 hours through 11 PM AKST on October 12th.

Wider weather episode

An early season heavy snowfall event took place across portions of Southcentral from October 11th to 12th as a low and associate front lifted across the Gulf and interacted with colder air in place over interior parts of southern Alaska. Deep, moist southerly flow moving into the northern Gulf coast helped set the stage for a favorable frontal overrunning event across the eastern half of Southcentral, with as much as 1 to 2 feet of new snow falling across namely the Copper River Basin by the time precipitation ended on the night of October 12th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1061620. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.