Heavy Snow — Western Kupreanof Island and Kuiu Island, Alaska

2022-12-22 to 2022-12-24 · Western Kupreanof Island and Kuiu Island, Alaska

Event narrative

A spotter from Port Alexander emailed estimating they had 6 inches of snow by 816am on the 23rd. Another spotter further north in the zone, in Security Bay, saw the same event in two waves of snow of 3.5 inches on the 23rd and 5.5 inches by 5pm on the 24th. That spotter reported snow had begun several hours later and had a quarter mile visibility the morning of the 23rd and a very dry consistency.

Wider weather episode

After a six day Arctic air outflow event, a frontal band, the first of a series of systems, brought dry, fluffy, snow starting over the southern panhandle and spreading northward through the 23rd. E-ENE wind gusts of 25-40mph were widespread with reports of blowing and drifting snow. The second frontal band moved into the southern panhandle early on the 24th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1072900. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.