Winter Storm — Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska

2024-01-15 to 2024-01-16 · Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska

Event narrative

Ketchikan COOP on the north side of town reported that light snow fell during the day on the 15th with rates increasing in the afternoon and evening. The COOP measured a total of 8.1 inches of light, dry snow the next day and estimated that it ended around 3am. The nearby Ketchikan ASOS confirmed that the greatest snowfall rates occurred over a 12 hour period between 2pm and 2am.

Wider weather episode

Over an extended long weekend event, a prefrontal trough followed by a stronger main system with attached moisture plume, delivered first a wave of dry powdery snow with very high snow rations (40:1 to 50:1 in many places). The next wave/front of snow was wetter and difficult to shovel, with some places seeing a period of freezing drizzle in between the two waves. As the 2nd front tracked southward on the 16th, bringing snow to those areas and extending the duration of the event.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1158377. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.