Blizzard and Ice Storm in Alaska, January 22 to 25, 2000

Name: Blizzard and Ice Storm in Alaska, January 22 to 25, 2000
Start: 2000-01-22T08:00
End: 2000-01-25T01:00
Location: Alaska

January 22 to 25, 2000 · NWS AFG · 13 events in 9 counties and zones

A storm as deep as 951 millibars early on the 23rd, moved slowly northeast over the Bering Sea, eventually dissipating over Saint Matthew Island on the afternoon of the 25th. Blizzard conditions occurred at:St.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

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 as deep as 951 millibars early on the 23rd, moved slowly northeast over the Bering Sea, eventually dissipating over Saint Matthew Island on the afternoon of the 25th. The associated weather front which moved northeast over interior Alaska on the 23rd and 24th, bringing a variety of winter weather to northern Alaska.Blizzard conditions occurred at:St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast: Gambell Arctic Slope Coastal: Point Lay, Wainwright, Barrow, Kuparuk, Nuiqsut, Deadhorse.Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound: Nome, GolovinNorthern Seward Peninsula-Lower Kobuk Valley: Kivalina, Point HopeExtreme Wind Chill occurred at:Northern Seward Peninsula-Lower Kobuk Valley: Point Hope : -74FFreezing Precipitation:Yukon Delta: Saint Marys possibly had freezing rain for a few hours, as inferred from AWOS.Highest Wind occurred at: St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast: Gambell AWOS 58 mph sustained, gust 76 mph.Yukon Delta: Saint Marys AWOS: 44 mph sustained, gusts to 64 mph.Tanana Valley: Delta Junction ASOS: 53 mph sustained, gust 63 mph ; Healy 40 mph sustained, gust 60 mph.Heavy Snow (24 hour amounts) occurred at:Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound: Nome, Koyuk: 6.0 ".Upper Yukon Valley: Chandalar Lake #2: 23rd: 9.0"; 24th: 10.0"Koyukuk-Upper Kobuk Valleys: Wiseman: 23rd: 15.0"; 24th: 15.5"Lower Yukon Valley: Nulato: 23rd 9.6"; Kaltag 23rd: 7.0", 24th: 7.0".

Event by event

4 heavy snow, 4 blizzard, 3 high wind, 1 ice storm, 1 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound

When: January 22, 8:00 AM AST to January 23, 8:00 AM AST
Where: Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heavy Snow, Upper Yukon Valley

When: January 22, 8:00 AM AST to January 24, 8:00 AM AST
Where: Upper Yukon Valley forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heavy Snow, Lower Yukon Valley

When: January 22, 8:00 AM AST to January 24, 8:00 AM AST
Where: Lower Yukon Valley forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

High Wind, St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast

When: January 22, 12:00 PM AST to January 25, 1:00 AM AST
Where: St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast forecast zone
Measured: 66 kt (76 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast

When: January 22, 2:15 PM AST to January 24, 7:15 PM AST
Where: St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Ice Storm, Yukon Delta

When: January 22, 6:00 PM AST to 11:00 PM AST
Where: Yukon Delta forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Koyukuk-Upper Kobuk Valleys

When: January 22, 8:00 PM AST to January 24, 8:00 PM AST
Where: Koyukuk-Upper Kobuk Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

High Wind, Yukon Delta

When: January 22, 9:00 PM AST to January 23, 1:15 AM AST
Where: Yukon Delta forecast zone
Measured: 56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound

When: January 22, 11:00 PM AST to January 23, 1:35 AM AST
Where: Southern Seward Peninsula-Eastern Norton Sound forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Tanana Valley

When: January 23, 5:00 AM AST to January 24, 3:00 PM AST
Where: Tanana Valley forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Arctic Slope Coastal

When: January 23, 6:00 AM AST to 6:00 PM AST
Where: Arctic Slope Coastal forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula

When: January 23, 6:22 AM AST to 1:35 PM AST
Where: Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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

When: January 24, 4:35 AM AST to 10:00 PM AST
Where: Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
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.
Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill: Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2000 Every state in 2000 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, January 2000

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: 5127902, 5127903, 5127905, 5127894, 5127893, 5127900, 5127904, 5127899, 5127896, 5127901, 5127895, 5127897, 5127898.