Heavy Snow — South Slopes of the Central Brooks Range, Alaska

2024-10-20 to 2024-10-23 · South Slopes of the Central Brooks Range, Alaska

Event narrative

Heavy snow fell over the south slopes of the Central Brooks Range between October 20th and 22nd. The Coldfoot SNOTEL (COFA2) reported a storm total liquid equivalent of 2.2 inches and an increase in snow depth of 11 inches between the 20th and 21st; snow continued through early on the 23rd, with a storm total snow accumulation of 13 inches. At the Wiseman COOP station (WSMA2), 8 inches of snow fell in 24 hours, with a storm total of 15 inches.

Wider weather episode

A major fall storm quickly pushed across northern Alaska between October 20th and 23rd, with the low itself moving all the way inland. The storm brought coastal flooding, high winds, heavy precipitation, and a mix of precipitation, including a rain-snow mix and freezing rain. Over higher elevations in the Brooks Range, snow amounts approached 2 feet, with 12 to 15 inches across the higher elevation Interior regions above 2000 feet. As the front pushed across the West Coast, south to southwest winds across coastal locations gusted to greater than 55 mph, with winds in excess of 65 mph occurring over the Bering and Chukchi coastal sites. These strong south to southwest winds pushes a surge of water all along the West Coast, with surge values of 4 to 10 feet above mean higher high water, highest near Kotzebue and in eastern Norton Sound, resulting in coastal flooding. A 12 to 15 mb gradient across the Alaska Range resulted in strong and gusty south winds through the Alaska Range passes with gusts to 65 mph.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1220122. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.