Alert archive / Alaska / Blizzard Warnings in 2018
Blizzard Warning 12, NWS Fairbanks, AK
NWS Fairbanks, AK issued this blizzard warning at Feb 22, 2018, 3:14 PM AKST. It was in force for 12 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 22, 2018, 3:14 PM AKST (00:14 UTC)
- Expired
- Feb 23, 2018, 2:45 AM AKST
- In force
- 12 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Fairbanks, AK
The text
As transmitted.
431 WWAK42 PAFG 230014 WSWWCZ URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 314 PM AKST Thu Feb 22 2018 AKZ216-217-227-230115- /O.CAN.PAFG.WW.Y.0034.000000T0000Z-180223T0300Z/ Lower Koyukuk and Middle Yukon Valleys- Upper Kobuk and Noatak Valleys-Upper Kuskokwim Valley- Including Galena, Nulato, Huslia, Kaltag, Ruby, Koyukuk, Ambler, Shungnak, Kobuk, McGrath, Nikolai, Takotna, and Farewell Lake 314 PM AKST Thu Feb 22 2018 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS CANCELLED... $$ AKZ210-230900- /O.UPG.PAFG.WW.Y.0034.000000T0000Z-180223T1500Z/ /O.NEW.PAFG.BZ.W.0012.180223T0014Z-180223T1500Z/ Northern and Interior Seward Peninsula- Including Buckland, Deering, Candle, Council, Haycock, Pilgrim Springs, Serpentine Hot Springs, and Taylor 314 PM AKST Thu Feb 22 2018 ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM AKST FRIDAY... * WHAT...Blizzard conditions occurring. Travel will be very dangerous to impossible. * WHERE...Northern Seward Peninsula including Buckland and Deering. * WHEN...Until 6 AM Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Winds gusting as high as 50 mph will cause whiteout conditions in blowing snow. Significant drifting of the snow is likely. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. $$ AKZ207-230900- /O.EXB.PAFG.WW.Y.0036.000000T0000Z-180223T0900Z/ Chukchi Sea Coast- Including Point Hope, Shishmaref, Kivalina, and Espenberg 314 PM AKST Thu Feb 22 2018 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT AKST TONIGHT... * WHAT...Blowing snow expected. Plan on areas of poor visibilities at times. * WHERE...Chukchi Sea Coast. * WHEN...Until midnight. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Winds gusting as high as 45 mph will cause areas of blowing and drifting snow. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Winter Weather Advisory for blowing snow means periods of blowing snow will cause travel difficulties. $$ AKZ209-230900- /O.CON.PAFG.WW.Y.0036.000000T0000Z-180223T1500Z/ Baldwin Peninsula and Selawik Valley- Including Kotzebue, Selawik, and Noorvik 314 PM AKST Thu Feb 22 2018 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM AKST FRIDAY... * WHAT...Snow and blowing snow occurring. In addition, areas of poor visibility are expected. Additional snow accumulations of up to one inch are expected. * WHERE...Baldwin Peninsula and Selawik Valley. * WHEN...Until 6 AM Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Winds gusting as high as 45 mph will cause areas of blowing and drifting snow. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Winter Weather Advisory for snow and blowing snow means periods of snow and blowing snow will cause travel difficulties. $$
2 follow-up statements
752 WWAK42 PAFG 230548 WSWWCZ URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 848 PM AKST Thu Feb 22 2018 AKZ207-230700- /O.CAN.PAFG.WW.Y.0036.000000T0000Z-180223T0900Z/ Chukchi Sea Coast- Including Point Hope, Shishmaref, Kivalina, and Espenberg 848 PM AKST Thu Feb 22 2018 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS CANCELLED... $$ AKZ210-231500- /O.CON.PAFG.BZ.W.0012.000000T0000Z-180223T1500Z/ Northern and Interior Seward Peninsula- Including Buckland, Deering, Candle, Council, Haycock, Pilgrim Springs, Serpentine Hot Springs, and Taylor 848 PM AKST Thu Feb 22 2018 ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM AKST FRIDAY... * WHAT...Blizzard conditions occurring. Travel will be very dangerous to impossible. * WHERE...Northern Seward Peninsula including Buckland and Deering. * WHEN...Until 6 AM Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Winds gusting as high as 50 mph will cause whiteout conditions in blowing snow. Significant drifting of the snow is likely. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. $$ AKZ209-231500- /O.CON.PAFG.WW.Y.0036.000000T0000Z-180223T1500Z/ Baldwin Peninsula and Selawik Valley- Including Kotzebue, Selawik, and Noorvik 848 PM AKST Thu Feb 22 2018 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM AKST FRIDAY... * WHAT...Snow and blowing snow occurring. In addition, areas of poor visibility are expected. Additional snow accumulations of up to one inch are expected. * WHERE...Baldwin Peninsula and Selawik Valley. * WHEN...Until 6 AM Friday. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Winds gusting as high as 45 mph will cause areas of blowing and drifting snow. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Winter Weather Advisory for snow and blowing snow means periods of snow and blowing snow will cause travel difficulties. $$
426 WWAK42 PAFG 231145 WSWWCZ URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 245 AM AKST Fri Feb 23 2018 AKZ210-231245- /O.CAN.PAFG.BZ.W.0012.000000T0000Z-180223T1500Z/ Northern and Interior Seward Peninsula- Including Buckland, Deering, Candle, Council, Haycock, Pilgrim Springs, Serpentine Hot Springs, and Taylor 245 AM AKST Fri Feb 23 2018 ...BLIZZARD WARNING IS CANCELLED... $$ AKZ209-231245- /O.CAN.PAFG.WW.Y.0036.000000T0000Z-180223T1500Z/ Baldwin Peninsula and Selawik Valley- Including Kotzebue, Selawik, and Noorvik 245 AM AKST Fri Feb 23 2018 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS CANCELLED... $$
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this blizzard warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this blizzard warning went out at Feb 22, 5:06 AM AKST, 10 hours 8 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 22, 5:06 AM AKST, 10 hours 8 minutes before
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 506 AM AKST Thu Feb 22 2018 .DISCUSSION... Models...22/00Z Solutions are in very good agreement through around 48 hours before they start to diverge. Solutions are not as aggressive in bringing warm air into the Upper Kuskokwim and Central Interior today so the threat of Freezing Precipitation is greatly reduced. Will be leaning toward a blend of the NAM and GFS snowfall amounts because temperatures aloft are a bit cooler than anticipated and snow ratios will be a bit higher than previously anticipated. Aloft...At 500 hpa...Ridge axis that was over the West Coast yesterday has moved over the Yukon Territory. Long wave trough that extended from the Chukchi Sea to the Aleutians over 170W yesterday has moved over the West Coast this morning and by this afternoon it will lie from Ambler to Prince William Sound. A shortwave over the northeast Arctic will swing south to the Eastern Arctic Coast by this evening. A series of shortwaves will move from the Northwest Arctic Coast southeast into the Central Interior, then east into the Yukon Territory. A ridge lies northwest to southeast across the Central Bering Sea this morning and will move over the Gulf of Anadyr and the Southwest Alaska Coast by Friday morning. The ridge will continue to move east as it is pushed south of the Alaska Range and will be over the Southern yukon Territory and Southeast Panhandle by Saturday morning. A 503 dam low will move over Kamchatka this morning, moving over the Lower Yukon Delta to Prince William Sound by Saturday morning at 518 dam. At 850 hpa...Temperatures are a bit cooler than previously advertised and will remain below zero over the forecast area today. The -10 isotherm will be over the West Coast and Arctic Coast today, with colder temperatures pushing east over the forecast area by Friday morning. Surface...High pressure over the Interior is weakening as a 999 mb low over Point Hope moves east over the Brooks Range and merges with a 991 mb low over Banks Island this afternoon. A 1014 mb low develops over the Kenai Peninsula this morning and moves east to Yakutat by this evening. High pressure across the Central Bering Sea will move to lie from Bristol Bay to the Gulf of Anadyr and a 1034 mb high over Chukotka late this evening. Ridging will push east over the south slopes of the Alaska Range this evening and east over the Brooks Range tonight as weak troughing persists over the Upper Yukon Flats. High pressure will move over the southwest mainland by Friday morning with a 1018 mb center over McGrath and ridging extending northwest over the Chukotsk Peninsula. A 994 mb low will move to the Western Bering Sea by Friday morning, then east to St Matthew Island Friday evening as a weather front moves to the southwest mainland coast. The trough will string out to lie along 60N with a 988 mb low in the Gulf of Alaska. A 996 mb low over Banks Island will move east as a 981 mb low drops southwest to Banks Island by Saturday morning a 970 mb. Arctic Coast and Brooks Range...Cloudy, snow, winds increasing, blowing snow developing on the Eastern Arctic Coast, with Blizzard conditions developing from Kaktovik east tonight, as the pressure gradient tightens over the are, so have issued a Warning for zone 204. Generally northwest to west winds 10 to 25 mph. Winds 35 mph gust to 45 mph from Kaktovik east Friday. Several fronts will move into the area through the weekend bringing strong gusty winds and blowing snow. Temperatures cooling. West Coast and Western Interior...Precipitation moving inland today with improving conditions in the coastal areas by Friday morning. A band of strong winds will move southeast across the Chukchi Sea over the northern Seward Peninsula, and northern of Galena, but south of Ambler. Expect winds gusting to around 40 mph in some areas. Blowing snow issues in a few areas through the night with visibility one half mile or less at times. Temperatures cooling. Central and Eastern Interior...The potential for freezing precipitation has diminished as the airmass has cooled across the interior. In the Fairbanks area that means some slightly higher snowfall amounts are now expected through Friday morning with 4 to 7 inches expected, and up to 10 inches expected in some outlying areas. Winds picking today with a band of stronger winds extending from Minchumina to the Upper Chena Basin, then southeast over the Delta Junction area to Dot Lake. In Fairbanks winds potentially gusting to 35 mph with winds in the higher elevations gusting around 40 mph. A second band of winds will be over the Upper Yukon Flats. It still looks like winds will diminish by Friday around noon for most areas. Areas of blowing snow will reduce visibility to less than 1/2 mile at times. Temperatures continuing to cool. && Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None. && Extended forecast for days 4 to 7...Will most likely be using a blend of the Ensemble means as the current solutions offer little in agreement. So expect weak high pressure over the interior with a low in the Beaufort Sea spinning a front to the Arctic Coast, and a low in the Bering Sea moving to the Eastern Bering Sea. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Blizzard Warning for AKZ204. Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ209-AKZ210-AKZ213-AKZ214-AKZ216- AKZ217-AKZ219-AKZ220-AKZ221-AKZ222-AKZ223-AKZ224-AKZ225-AKZ227. Small Craft Advisory for PKZ210. Gale Warning for PKZ215-PKZ220. Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ200-PKZ225-PKZ230. && SDB FEB 18
The office that day
Everything else NWS Fairbanks, AK issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 22, 3:13 PM AKST | Gale Warning | AFG | 4 days | |
| Feb 22, 3:21 PM AKST | Heavy Freezing Spray Warning | AFG | 7 days | |
| Feb 23, 3:29 AM AKST | Brisk Wind Advisory | AFG | 60 hr | |
| Feb 23, 3:35 AM AKST | Gale Warning | AFG | 24 hr |
Nearby
Blizzard Warnings in Alaska, 2018Every blizzard warning in 2018
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text.