Blizzard, St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast
- When
- January 20, 5:00 PM AST to January 21, 12:00 PM AST
- Where
- St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 20 to 24, 1999
With an already moderate pressure gradient over western Alaska, a strong low pressure center moved from south of the Aleutian chain to Norton Sound the morning of the 23rd; to near Barrow on the Arctic Coast the evening of the 23rd.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 11
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.
With an already moderate pressure gradient over western Alaska, a strong low pressure center moved from south of the Aleutian chain to Norton Sound the morning of the 23rd; to near Barrow on the Arctic Coast the evening of the 23rd. The associated occluded front moved northeast across Northern Alaska producing Blizzard Conditions over the West and North Coast, strong upslope precipitation over the Southern Slopes of the Brooks Range, and strong winds through passes of the Brooks Range and Alaska Range.Blizzard conditions occurred at Shishmaref, Deering, Selawik, Buckland, Kotzebue, Kivalina, Buckland (Zone 3), Golovin, Nome, Unalakleet (Zone 6), Gambell, Savoonga, Tin City (Zone 9), Emmonak (Zone 10), Kuparuk, Prudhoe Bay, and Barter Island (Zone 1).Snow amounts: Zone 4: Chandalar DOT Camp 7" 23rd, 7" 24th; Wiseman Co-op 28.5" 23rd, 12" 24th; Jim River DOT Camp 8" 23rd; Coldfoot DOT Camp 25" 24th; Bettles 15" 3pm 22nd to 3am 24th.Zone 5: Chandalar Lake 10.1" 23rdZone 8: Nulato Coop 7" 23rd; Ruby Co-op 10.2" 23rd; Kaltag Co-op 12.0" 23rdStrong Winds: Zone 7: Healy sustained 32kt, gusts 60 mph, Delta Junction: sustained 45 mph, gusts to 62 mphZone 2: Sag River DOT Camp: gusts to 60 mph on both the 23rd and 24th.Extreme Wind Chill: Deering (Zone 3) -81F (24th)
Event by event
5 blizzard, 3 heavy snow, 2 high wind, 1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula
- When
- January 22, 12:00 AM AST to January 23, 9:00 PM AST
- Where
- Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard, Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound
- When
- January 22, 3:00 AM AST to January 23, 5:00 PM AST
- Where
- Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard, Yukon Delta
- When
- January 22, 3:00 AM AST to 6:00 AM AST
- Where
- Yukon Delta forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
High Wind, Tanana Valley
- When
- January 22, 9:00 AM AST to January 23, 3:00 AM AST
- Where
- Tanana Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 54 kt (62 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Heavy Snow, Koyukuk-Upper Kobuk Valleys
- When
- January 22, 9:00 PM AST to January 24, 12:00 PM AST
- Where
- Koyukuk-Upper Kobuk Valleys forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Heavy Snow, Lower Yukon Valley
- When
- January 22, 9:00 PM AST to January 24, 9:00 AM AST
- Where
- Lower Yukon Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
High Wind, North Slopes of Brooks Range
- When
- January 23, 12:00 AM AST to January 24, 6:00 PM AST
- Where
- North Slopes of Brooks Range forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Heavy Snow, Upper Yukon Valley
- When
- January 23, 5:00 AM AST to January 24, 9:00 PM AST
- Where
- Upper Yukon Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Cold/Wind Chill, Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula
- When
- January 24, 7:00 AM AST to 11:50 PM AST
- Where
- Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard, Arctic Slope Coastal
- When
- January 24, 8:00 AM AST to 6:00 PM AST
- Where
- Arctic Slope Coastal forecast zone
- 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.
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
- Cold/Wind Chill
- Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm in Utah, January 20 to 22, 1999
- Dense Fog in Michigan, January 20, 1999
- Winter Storm in Colorado, January 20 to 22, 1999
- Dense Fog in Florida, January 20, 1999
- Winter Weather in South Dakota, January 20, 1999
- Winter Storm in Colorado, January 20 to 22, 1999
- Cold in Alaska, January 20 to 21, 1999
- High Wind in Alaska, January 20 to 21, 1999
- Heavy Snow in California, January 20 to 21, 1999
- High Wind in Oregon, January 20, 1999
- Heavy Snow in Nevada, January 20 to 21, 1999
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, January 20 to 21, 1999
More
Every storm in Alaska in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 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: 5681502, 5681145, 5681501, 5681503, 5681508, 5681504, 5681506, 5681509, 5681505, 5681510, 5681507.