Alert archive / Alaska / Gale Warnings in 2018

Gale Warning 42, NWS Fairbanks, AK

March 31, 2018

NWS Fairbanks, AK issued this gale warning at Mar 31, 2018, 2:56 PM AKDT. It was in force for 37 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
Mar 31, 2018, 2:56 PM AKDT (22:56 UTC)
Expired
Apr 2, 2018, 3:56 AM AKDT
In force
37 hr
Issued by
NWS Fairbanks, AK

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this gale 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 gale warning went out at Mar 31, 2:45 PM AKDT, 11 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 31, 2:45 PM AKDT, 11 minutes before
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
245 PM AKDT Sat Mar 31 2018

.DISCUSSION...

A ridge will build over the Bering sea and stretch northward
across the bering strait through Monday. A shortwave will move
east across the western north slope tonight and continue to track
to the east and will be over the eastern North Slope on Sunday.
Another shortwave will track across the Interior Saturday evening
bringing a shot of snow for the Middle Tanana Valley. On Tuesday
a cold 518 dam low will push southward into the western Interior
and deepen to 510 dam by Wednesday afternoon over the Yukon Delta
then move over Bristol Bay on Thursday.

Surface...A frontal boundary will sweep across the north slope
bringing snow and gusty winds this afternoon and will push over
the Beaufort Sea coast and into the Interior this evening. A 1042
mb high will build over the Bering sea and build northward over
the weekend and into next week.

West Coast and Western Interior: Fog and low clouds will persist
along the west coast into early Sunday (the HRRR actually has a
solid area of low visibility fog stretching from the Bering Strait
Coast southward to the Yukon Delta through early Sunday morning).
Dense fog headlines added for zones 213 and 211 for dense fog
around Nome and the Bering Strait. High pressure will build north
across west coast on Sunday, keeping the west coast free of
precipitation Sunday through Tuesday. Low level winds will
strengthen and become northeasterly on Tuesday.

North Slope and Brooks Range:
Winter weather advisories still in effect for zones 202 and 203. A
blizzard warning is in effect for zone 204. Snowfall amounts
around the 2 to 4 inch range with locally higher amounts over the
Eastern Brooks range through Sunday morning. A tight pressure
gradient will produce westerly winds gusting to 50 mph near Barter
Island area Sunday into Monday. High pressure will build along the
north side of the Brooks Range this evening. This will cause
strong northerly gap winds to develop in Brooks Range Passes. The
gap winds in the Brooks Range combined with falling snow will
result in blowing snow reducing the visibility to one half mile or
less at times into Sunday.

Central and Eastern Interior: Snow will begin to develop across
the Middle Tanana Valley late this afternoon due to a frontal
boundary and an increase in moisture. Expecting 1 to 3 inches
with the heaviest amounts south of Fairbanks and near the Alaska
range due to upslope enhancement. The snow will gradually taper
off Sunday morning. In addition to the snow, wind gusts as high as
25 mph will cause blowing snow reducing the visibility at times
mainly over higher terrain. Blowing and drifting snow possible
over the summits of the Steese, Dalton and Elliott Highways.
Winter weather advisories are in effect for snow and blowing snow
for zones 220 218 and 219. High pressure will build over the
Interior on Monday drying things out. Little to no precipitation
through mid week for the Interior.

Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Blizzard Warning for AKZ204.

Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ202-AKZ203-AKZ206-AKZ218-AKZ219-
AKZ220.

Gale Warning for PKZ240-PKZ245.

Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ230-PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245.
&&

JK MAR 18

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 31, 1:06 PM AKDT, 1 hour 50 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
Special weather statement, Mar 31, 1:55 PM AKDT, 1 hour 1 minute before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The office that day

Everything else NWS Fairbanks, AK issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Mar 30, 9:56 PM AKDTBlizzard WarningAFG13 hr
Mar 31, 3:45 AM AKDTBlizzard WarningAFG45 hr
Mar 31, 3:54 AM AKDTWinter Weather AdvisoryAFG48 hr

Nearby

Gale Warnings in Alaska, 2018Every gale 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.