Winter Weather — Copper River Basin, Alaska

2023-10-01 to 2023-10-03 · Copper River Basin, Alaska

Event narrative

Alaska Department of Transportation reported between 4 and 8 inches of new snow accumulation on the Richardson Highway between Paxson and Isabel Pass at around 6 PM 10/2 along with reduced visibility and winds up to 30 mph blowing out of the pass. Webcam images from the area also verified significant new snowfall between 10/1 and 10/2 across higher elevations of the Copper River Basin.

Wider weather episode

Seasonably cool temperatures helped support an early accumulating snowfall across portions of the northern Copper River Basin to start off the month of October. Snow levels lowered enough during the overnight of 10/1 to bring several inches of snow to sections of the Richardson Highway between Paxson and Isabel Pass, as well as portions of the Glenn Highway near Gunsight Mountain, while the rest of the Copper Basin stayed warm enough for cold rain for most of the duration of the precipitation event.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1133676. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.