Winter Storm — Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island To Etolin Island, Alaska

2012-12-08 to 2012-12-09 · Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island To Etolin Island, Alaska

Event narrative

Petersburg got 5.9 inches of new snow early on the morning of Dec 9th. Visibility was as low as 1/2 mile at the airport. Snow changed to rain later in the morning making snow management quite difficult due to the weight of the snow.

Wider weather episode

On 12/7 the arctic front was over Northern Lynn Canal with high pressure over the northern Yukon into eastern B.C. This northern high build on 12/8 as a copious amount of moisture moved up from the south associated with a storm south of Dutch Harbor. The air masses collided on the afternoon of 12/8 bring heavy snowfall to the northern Panhandle. The heavier snowfall amounts were from 5 to 9 inches during the early morning hours on 12/9. Most areas had rain later that day making snow management difficult.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 426161. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.