Name: Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, December 18 to 20, 1999
Start: 1999-12-18T00:00
End: 1999-12-20T23:59
Location: Alaska

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 AFC wrote it up.

An intense 963 mb low in the north-central Pacific moved into Bristol Bay early Sunday, weakening to a 980 mb center. By 9 am Monday, the low had weakened to a 994 mb center just west of Kotzebue Sound. Brisk north winds along the west side of the low were observed from the Pribilofs into the eastern Aleutians. Gusts reached 67 mph at Dutch Harbor Saturday.Strong easterly winds were observed ahead of the front associated with this low. By Saturday evening, the front had moved northeast into the Gulf of Alaska...on its way inland toward the Alaska Range early Sunday. Gusts reached 76 mph at Middleton Island in advance of the front, diminishing rapidly around 3 am Sunday as the front moved by the Island. Gusts reached 53 mph late Saturday, and 64 mph Sunday, around Cordova. Strongest winds around Cordova occurred with the frontal passage. Across the Kuskokwim Delta, blizzard conditions developed Saturday, continuing into Sunday. Wind chills reached 50 below around Bethel Monday with winds still gusting to 40 mph.Blizzard conditions were also reported across the Pribilofs from Saturday through early Monday.Strong northerly winds were also reported along the Alaska Peninsula, accompanied by local blizzard conditions in blowing snow Monday.

Event by event

3 high wind, 3 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Central Gulf Coast

When: December 18, 12:00 AM AST to December 19, 11:59 PM AST
Where: Central Gulf Coast forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Kuskokwim Delta

When: December 18, 12:00 PM AST to December 20, 12:00 PM AST
Where: Kuskokwim Delta forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

High Wind, Aleutian Islands

When: December 18, 1:00 PM AST to 3:00 PM AST
Where: Aleutian Islands forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Pribilof Islands

When: December 18, 3:00 PM AST to December 20, 2:00 AM AST
Where: Pribilof Islands forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

High Wind, Kodiak Island-Eastern Alaska Peninsula

When: December 18, 6:00 PM AST to December 19, 3:00 AM AST
Where: Kodiak Island-Eastern Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
Measured: 66 kt (76 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Western Alaska Peninsula

When: December 20, 6:00 PM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Western Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alaska in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, December 1999

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: 5721650, 5721647, 5721645, 5721648, 5721646, 5721649.