Alaska, 1999

Cold in Alaska, January 29 to 31, 1999

January 29 to 31, 1999 · NWS AFG · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

While a deep cold airmass covered Northern Alaska, a low pressure center tracked east across the Arctic Ocean on the 29th bringing winds of 15 to 25 mph across the Arctic Coast (Zone 1), North Slopes of the Brooks Range (Zone 2) and northwest Alaska (Zone 3). Shortly thereafter, low pressure over the Gulf of Alaska deepened on the 30th and remained strong through the remainder of the period,…

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.

While a deep cold airmass covered Northern Alaska, a low pressure center tracked east across the Arctic Ocean on the 29th bringing winds of 15 to 25 mph across the Arctic Coast (Zone 1), North Slopes of the Brooks Range (Zone 2) and northwest Alaska (Zone 3). Shortly thereafter, low pressure over the Gulf of Alaska deepened on the 30th and remained strong through the remainder of the period, producing local winds over 15 mph through passes of the Brooks Range (Zone 2) and Alaska Range (Zone 7). Though unverified, these dangerous wind chills likely occurred over other exposed locations of interior Alaska (Zones 4..5..8..remainder of 7) during the same time. Lowest values recorded (sustained wind used):Zone 1: Barrow -89, Nuiqsut -93, Kuparuk -97, Deadhorse -90, Prudhoe Bay -95,Zone 2: Anaktuvuk Pass -97Zone 3: Point Hope -87, Kivalina -104, Noatak -92, Deering -102, Kotzebue -103, Buckland -92, Shishmaref -93, Red Dog Mine -97, Point Hope -87Zone 6: Golovin -89Zone 7: Healy DOT -80, Trimms DOT -90Zone 10: Emmonak -81Event continued in February.

Event by event

6 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula

When
January 29, 1:00 AM AST to January 31, 11:59 PM AST
Where
Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill, North Slopes of Brooks Range

When
January 29, 5:00 AM AST to January 31, 11:59 PM AST
Where
North Slopes of Brooks Range forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill, Arctic Slope Coastal

When
January 29, 6:00 AM AST to January 30, 7:00 AM AST
Where
Arctic Slope Coastal forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill, Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound

When
January 29, 3:00 PM AST to January 30, 11:00 PM AST
Where
Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill, Yukon Delta

When
January 29, 7:00 PM AST to January 30, 3:00 PM AST
Where
Yukon Delta forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill, Tanana Valley

When
January 30, 12:00 AM AST to January 31, 11:59 PM AST
Where
Tanana Valley forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

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

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: 5681513, 5681514, 5681512, 5681516, 5681517, 5681515.