Winter Storm — Glacier Bay, Alaska

2023-03-01 · Glacier Bay, Alaska

Event narrative

Dry snow began late evening on February 28th and became heavy overnight. Gustavus DOT measured 5 inches by early morning on the 1st, then reported another 9 inches by 1134am. Winds were gusting 20 to 30 mph throughout the morning and peaked at 39mph in the afternoon. The storm total snowfall reached 18 inches before changing to rain in the afternoon.

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 1082363. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.