Winter Weather — Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

2024-12-12 to 2024-12-13 · Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Event narrative

A SNOTEL located in McNeil Canyon Reported 17 inches of snow in 24 hours (12/12 4:00 AM AKST to 12/13 4:00 AM AKST). On the evening of the 12th, A NOAA Oceanographer in Homer reported that a foot of snow had fallen in McNeil Canyon by 10 AM on the 13th and 10 inches of snow had fallen in the BayCrest area of the Homer Bluffs by 12/12 5:30 PM AKST. In Homer proper, only a few inches of slushy snowfall had fallen by the end of the event on the 13th.

Wider weather episode

A mesolow (a small-scaled low) formed over Cook Inlet and Southern Kenai on Thursday Dec 12th, which turned winds southwesterly. This southwesterly flow drew moisture into the Kenai Peninsula which quickly started precipitating. Temperatures were slightly above freezing in Homer proper, which saw a mix of rain and snow, eventually turning into a slushy wet snow when temperatures cooled. Higher elevations of Homer including the Homer Bluffs and Diamond Ridge, however, were cold enough to to see steady snowfall, which became heavy at times and dropped 1 to 2 feet of wet snow over a 24 hour period.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1227405. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.