Blizzard, Yukon Delta
- When
- December 16, 6:00 PM AST to December 18, 4:00 AM AST
- Where
- Yukon Delta forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, December 16 to 19, 1998
A storm south of the central Aleutian Islands moved north into the Bering Sea then northwest to Far East Russia and weakened. Blizzard condition occurred at: Zone 10: Hooper Bay, Cape Romanzof, Zone 9: Tin City, Zone 6: Nome, Golovin, Unalakleet (close), and Zone 3: Kotzebue, Selawik, Kivalina (close).
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 6
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.
A storm south of the central Aleutian Islands moved north into the Bering Sea then northwest to Far East Russia and weakened. Blizzard condition occurred at: Zone 10: Hooper Bay, Cape Romanzof, Zone 9: Tin City, Zone 6: Nome, Golovin, Unalakleet (close), and Zone 3: Kotzebue, Selawik, Kivalina (close). On the 19th, the PMEL (Pacific Marine Environmental Labroatory) platform at Cape Prince of Wales on the Bering Strait Coast reported wind gusts to 60 mph. Additionally on the early morning of the 17th, wind chills of -70 to 81 below occurred over zone 3: Kotzebue reached -72 F; Selawik reached -81 F.
Event by event
4 blizzard, 1 cold/wind chill, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound
- When
- December 17, 5:00 AM AST to December 18, 11:00 PM AST
- Where
- Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard, St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast
- When
- December 17, 9:00 AM AST to 10:00 AM AST
- Where
- St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard, Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula
- When
- December 17, 12:00 PM AST to December 19, 11:00 AM AST
- Where
- Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Cold/Wind Chill, Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula
- When
- December 17, 11:00 PM AST to December 18, 7:00 AM AST
- Where
- Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
High Wind, St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast
- When
- December 19, 1:00 AM AST to 5:00 AM AST
- Where
- St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast forecast zone
- Measured
- 53 kt (61 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
What these are
- Blizzard
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in Alaska in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 1998
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5676718, 5676716, 5676717, 5676715, 5676720, 5676719.