Winter Storm in City of Hyder, Alaska

Intermittent light snow fell on the 8th, becoming steady with visibility falling to 2 miles at the Stewart B.C. weather station at 413pm local time. Snow continued to fall through the night with visibility below a quarter mile around 9am local time. A trained spotter reported 12 inches of snow had fallen in Hyder by 11am AKST on the 9th with snow continuing to fall. The Stewart B.C. weather station reported freezing rain for several hours in the afternoon as temperatures were trending up.

An atmospheric river brought snow followed by high winds, warming temperatures and heavy rain to the panhandle January 8th and 9th. A low pressure center developed along a triple point front as it tracked NE across the western Gulf of Alaska on the 9th. The low center deepened to 960mb as it approached the northern Gulf and the frontal system brought a period of high winds to the central and southern panhandle. This system brought with it heavy snow across the north, followed by a significant warm-up, heavy rain, localized flooding due to previous heavy snow blocking drainages, and avalanches. The flooding falls into the advisory level, but the rain was an additional impact due to the added weight of the snow on structures. Disaster declarations were expanded to more communities across the northern panhandle after this storm.