Blizzard, Arctic Slope Coastal
- When
- March 7, 11:00 AM AST to March 9, 7:35 PM AST
- Where
- Arctic Slope Coastal forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard and Extreme Cold in Alaska, March 7 to 9, 2000
An arctic front became established just north of the crest of the Brooks Range on March 7, and interacted with strong high pressure over the arctic basin. This produced over 2 days of high winds and blizzard conditions at Point Lay.
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 arctic front became established just north of the crest of the Brooks Range on March 7, and interacted with strong high pressure over the arctic basin. This produced over 2 days of high winds and blizzard conditions at Point Lay. Deadhorse and Prudhoe Bay had a blizzard on the morning of March 9. Point Lay had severe wind chill on the morning of March 9. The winds let up as a surface trough on the north slopes of the Brooks Range drifted north and approached the coast.Highest wind: Point Lay AWOS : 46 mph sustained, gust 55 mph.Lowest Wind Chill: Point Lay: -86, winds 40-45 mph.
Event by event
1 blizzard, 1 high wind, 1 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Arctic Slope Coastal
- When
- March 7, 3:35 PM AST to March 9, 5:00 PM AST
- Where
- Arctic Slope Coastal forecast zone
- Measured
- 48 kt (55 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Arctic Slope Coastal
- When
- March 8, 11:15 PM AST to March 9, 10:35 AM 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.
- 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
- Tornado and Hail in Oklahoma, March 7, 2000
- Tornadoes and Hail in Kansas, March 7, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, March 7, 2000
- High Wind in Texas, March 7, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, March 7, 2000
- Dust Storm in Arizona, March 7, 2000
- Tornadoes and Hail in Oklahoma, March 7 to 8, 2000
- Damaging Winds and High Wind in Texas, March 7, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, March 7 to 8, 2000
- Damaging Winds in Nebraska, March 7, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, March 7, 2000
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, March 7, 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: 5134065, 5134066, 5134067.