Heavy Snow — Middle Tanana Valley, Alaska

2018-01-16 to 2018-01-17 · Middle Tanana Valley, Alaska

Wider weather episode

Low pressure tracked across the Middle Tanana Valley during the overnight hours of the 17th. Precipitation began as freezing rain due to enough warm air in place aloft when the precipitation started. Light freezing rain occurred over several hours and there were multiple car accidents reported due to icy roads. Less then one tenth of an inch of ice reported. The precipitation changed to snow late in the evening and heavy wet snow fell overnight. There was a sharp gradient of snowflall amounts. 7.4 inches fell at the Fairbanks Airport and only a trace of snow southeast of Fairbanks. A record precipitation amount of 0.55 inches was set at the Fairbanks Airport on the 17th. This breaks the old record of 0.33 inches set in 2000. A record snowfall of 6.1 inches was also reported at the Fairbanks Airport which fell after midnight. This breaks the old record of 4 inches set in 2008.

Snowfall amounts around the Fairbanks area.

College Hills......7.8 inches.

Fairbanks Airport...7.4 inches.

UAF West Ridge....6.7 inches.

North Pole....Trace.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 727485. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.