A strong frontal system in the southwest Gulf of Alaska was preceded by strong east and southeast winds.  The front moved north and northwest through Prince William Sound and into the northern Susitna Valley Sunday midday. Gusts reached 73 mph at the Prince William Sound Science Center with frontal passage around noon Sunday.   Wind gusts at the southeast Sound buoy gusted in the 50 to 60 mph from 11 pm Saturday through 10 am Sunday.In the western Prince William Sound zone, east wind gusts of 60 + mph were observed in the Portage Valley from around 1 am to just before 1 pm Sunday.  Peak winds reached 68 mph between 11 am and noon.   In the January 10th edition of the Anchorage Daily News, an article referred to storm totals Saturday night and Sunday of "...about 3 feet of wet snow..."which held 2 weekend campers and their dogs "captive" in a remote Forest Service cabin on the Kenai Peninsula on the northwest end of Crescent Lake.  "We got to the cabin (apparently late Saturday) and the winds started blowing" Rachel Cheyette said, continuing with "On Saturday night it blew all night long." On Sunday morning, the wind slowed and the couple started breaking trail through heavy wet snow for about a mile until everything turned white. "There were whiteout conditions", Cheyette stated.  When they couldn't see the trail, they hiked back to cabin to wait out the storm, aware that conditions had primed the slopes for avalanches.  They were finally rescued by helicopter midday Tuesday.  Several feet of new fell at higher elevations along Turnagain Pass.Spotter reports from the State Troopers in Turnagain Pass were "4-5" of new snow and whiteout conditions as of 2:30 am".  By 1:45 pm, DOT officials reported 2.29 inches of rain from the storm around Girdwood, with snow in the Pass.  The report also mentioned 24" of new snow as of noon.  With the early morning observation, this yielded about 20 inches of snow in 9 ½ hours.   Along the Anchorage hillside, peak winds of 60 + mph were first reported at the Glen Alps site around 6 am.  Between 7 and 8 am Sunday, winds increased above 60 mph at Rabbit Creek, with peak winds reaching 71 mph several hours later between 10 and 11 am.  The Glen Alps site recorded peak winds of 61 mph at 6 am and again at 10 pm.  Wind gusts below 60 mph were reported after 10 pm Sunday.  Much stronger winds, however, were recorded along the Site Summit remote sensor, at close to 4000 asl, adjacent to the old Nike Site near Arctic Valley ski area where gusts reached 79 mph at 5 am, 129 mph at 9 am and 103 mph just before 11 pm (winds diminished to well below 60 mph thereafter).  Roads were dangerously slick Sunday, prompting the Alaska State Troopers to issue a travel advisory for the Seward Highway.  In Anchorage, police counted 81 vehicles in distress between midnight Saturday and 2 pm Sunday.  Many of them ended up in ditches or were stuck along the Glenn Highway and in Eagle River.  Anchorage police sent three extra officers to help out.  At the western entrance to Turnagain Arm, an avalanche was reported at Mile 98, on the Bird Flats north west of Girdwood, which set off four smaller slides that came down to the highway.

High Wind in SERN P.W. SND, ALASKA
From 07-JAN-01 01:00:00 to 07-JAN-01 16:00:00 (AST)
Magnitude: 63 M
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

High Wind in WRN P.W. SND & KENAI MTNS, ALASKA
From 07-JAN-01 01:00:00 to 07-JAN-01 13:00:00 (AST)
Magnitude: 59 M
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind in ANCHORAGE MUNI TO BIRD CREEK, ALASKA
From 07-JAN-01 06:00:00 to 07-JAN-01 23:00:00 (AST)
Magnitude: 112 M
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow in WRN P.W. SND & KENAI MTNS, ALASKA
From 07-JAN-01 02:30:00 to 07-JAN-01 12:00:00 (AST)
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Avalanche in ANCHORAGE MUNI TO BIRD CREEK, ALASKA
From 07-JAN-01 00:00:00 to 07-JAN-01 23:59:00 (AST)
Property damage: 5K
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS