Winter Storm — Western Kupreanof Island and Kuiu Island, Alaska

2026-01-05 · Western Kupreanof Island and Kuiu Island, Alaska

Event narrative

Light pre-frontal snow was falling in Kake during the evening of the 4th, but steady snow did not begin until around 4am on the 5th based on the Kake Airport AWOS. Snowfall rates increased through the morning with visibility dropping to a quarter mile and sustained winds of around 20mph out of the E-SE. Temperatures warmed through the day and a transition to rain happened around 1pm. A trained spotter estimated that around 12 inches of snow had fallen since the night before.

Wider weather episode

Temperatures cooled across SE Alaska along with outflow winds during the first couple days of January after December's big snow dump. This allowed the next system that moved in from the west on the 4th and 5th to start out as snow. Prefrontal snow showers during the evening of the 4th added to the storm total snow for parts of the northern and central panhandle, then the main system moved in overnight with heavy snow on Monday the 5th (set to be the first day back at school after Winter Break for most locations). The southern panhandle saw a change over to rain during the day on the 5th, then the rain/snow line pushed northward through the night and into the morning of the 6th. Some strong winds accompanied the front, starting out of the north then shifting to the south with the front and causing temperatures to rise.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1316088. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.