Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula
- When
- March 23, 4:00 AM AST to March 24, 10:00 AM AST
- Where
- Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard and Extreme Cold in Alaska, March 23 to 25, 2000
An area of low surface pressure developed over the eastern Seward Peninsula and Kotzebue sound in the early morning of March 23, while moderate high pressure over the western Chukchi Sea shifted to the east a little. Extreme wind chills occurred at: Point Hope: as low as -76 F, winds around 35 mph.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
An area of low surface pressure developed over the eastern Seward Peninsula and Kotzebue sound in the early morning of March 23, while moderate high pressure over the western Chukchi Sea shifted to the east a little. The wind diminished as the low pressure center moved north over Kotzebue Sound and weakened on March 25.Intermittent blizzard conditions occurred at Kivalina.Extreme wind chills occurred at: Point Hope: as low as -76 F, winds around 35 mph. Kivalina: as low as -72 F, winds 45 mph.High Wind occurred at: Kivalina AWOS 48 mph sustained, gust 58 mph. Pt Hope AWOS 43 mph sustained, gust 53 mph.
Event by event
1 extreme cold/wind chill, 1 blizzard, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula
- When
- March 24, 12:00 AM AST to 6:00 PM AST
- Where
- Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
High Wind, Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula
- When
- March 24, 6:00 AM AST to March 25, 12:00 PM AST
- Where
- Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
- Measured
- 50 kt (58 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
What these are
- Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
- Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
- 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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Extreme Cold in Alaska, March 23 to 24, 2000
- Tornadoes and Damaging Wind in Kansas, March 23, 2000
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Kansas, March 23 to 27, 2000
- High Surf in Hawaii, March 23 to 27, 2000
- Flood and Hail in Texas, March 23 to 24, 2000
- Flooding in Texas, March 23 to 25, 2000
- Tornado and Hail in Kansas, March 23, 2000
- Hail in Texas, March 23, 2000
- High Wind in Texas, March 23, 2000
- Flash Flood in Oklahoma, March 23, 2000
- Excessive Heat in Wisconsin, March 23, 2000
- Wildfire in Florida, March 23, 2000
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, March 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: 5135705, 5135703, 5135704.