Winter Storm — Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

2024-01-15 to 2024-01-16 · Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

Event narrative

A social media comment estimated that 6 inches of snow had fallen by 1130pm in Thorne Bay on the 15th, then the Thorne Bay COOP Observer measured a total of 7.5 inches by their 8am observation the next day. Per nearby ASOS stations, most of that snow fell during the afternoon and evening timeframe on January 15th along with short periods of unknown precipitation or freezing rain. Other reports across the island were lower with all rain to the south and reports of 5 inches at the Edna Bay CoCoRaHS and 5 to 6 inches in Hollis and Whale Pass.

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 1158378. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.