Winter Storm — City and Borough of Wrangell, Alaska

2024-01-13 to 2024-01-16 · City and Borough of Wrangell, Alaska

Event narrative

Light snow fell during the MLK long weekend across Wrangell with heaviest rates falling on the 15th between 10am and 10pm. A trained spotter measured 14 inches storm total by late evening and others on social media confirmed that amount the next day.

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 1160378. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.