Blizzard, Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns
- When
- December 6, 2:00 AM AST to 2:00 PM AST
- Where
- Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns forecast zone
- Reported by
- OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Blizzard in Alaska, December 6, 2001
Cold air outflow winds and heavy snow showers produced blizzard conditions around the Whittier area. Observations from the contract observer recorded visibilities as low as 1/4 mile on nearly every observation during the 12 hour period.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 AFC wrote it up.
Cold air outflow winds and heavy snow showers produced blizzard conditions around the Whittier area. Observations from the contract observer recorded visibilities as low as 1/4 mile on nearly every observation during the 12 hour period. Reported winds of 46 mph from a southwesterly direction (glacier and Portage Valley combination) were frequent on the Whittier observation.Greg Hall, at the Whittier tunnel, reported the "tunnel was closed due to visibility and drifting and blowing snow". Visibilities he reported were less than 1/4 mile. He could not see the tunnel from the mid point staging area on the west side. He reported winds of 45 mph.The harbormaster reported visibilities so low she could not see the harbor office from her boat in the small boat harbor.
Event by event
1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
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.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Strong Wind in Vermont, December 6, 2001
- High Surf in Hawaii, December 6 to 7, 2001
- Strong Wind in New York, December 6, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Montana, December 6 to 7, 2001
- High Wind in Michigan, December 6, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Washington, December 6, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 6 to 7, 2001
- Winter Storm in Colorado, December 6 to 7, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 6 to 8, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 6, 2001
- Flood in Indiana, December 6 to 8, 2001
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2001
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: 5273340.