Winter Storm — Municipality of Skagway, Alaska

2024-12-01 to 2024-12-03 · Municipality of Skagway, Alaska

Event narrative

Light snow began during the morning hours of the 1st, with DOT reporting up to 5 inches near White Pass by around 8am picking in the afternoon and evening with northerly wind gusts exceeding 40 mph at times with visibility at 1 mile. A resident of Dyea estimated 10 to 12 inches of snow had accumulated by the following morning and was continuing to fall.

There was a break in precipitation until during the night of the 2nd followed freezing rain, mixed with snow at times after 2am on the 3rd until precipitation ended that evening.

At around 730am on the 2nd, DOT in Skagway reported an avalanche had crossed the Klondike Highway at 14.3 mile and closed the road. The road was reopened before noon, but was closed again then next day due to increased avalanche concerns.

Wider weather episode

Low pressure tracking northward over the panhandle collided with cold northerly outflow, resulting in rounds of heavy snow lasting over a two day timeframe for some locations. As warming occurred, there was an extended period of sleet and freezing rain, followed by impacts from moderate rain on the fresh snowpack.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1229247. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.