Heavy Snow — City and Borough of Yakutat, Alaska

2023-03-01 to 2023-03-02 · City and Borough of Yakutat, Alaska

Event narrative

Snow began in Yakutat in the afternoon of February 28th and continued to fall for the next two days. Around 8am on the 1st, WSO Yakutat estimated 6 to 8 inches of snow had fallen while a retired NWS employee nearby measured 9 inches and was a quarter mile visibility at the time. By 11am another 8 inches had fallen. The quarter mile visibility lasted from 544am to 136pm on the 1st, with winds of 15 to 20 mph. The storm total by 446pm had reached 22 inches, but post frontal snow showers continued through the following morning with around 7 inches of additional accumulation.

Wider weather episode

A strong low pressure developed over the northern Gulf of Alaska bringing significant moisture to Southeast Alaska. Cold air entrenched over the region at low levels ahead of the event allowed for significant snow to fall across the area in two major pulses. The first being along the warm front, with a period of blizzard conditions over Juneau, and the second pulse occurred as the cold front moved across the region.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1082359. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.