Blizzard in Alaska, December 8, 2001

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, December 8, 2001
Start: 2001-12-08T00:00
End: 2001-12-08T23:59
Location: Alaska

December 8, 2001 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

1 blizzard, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 1
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.

Event by event

1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Kodiak Peninsula

When: December 8, 12:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Kodiak Peninsula forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: GOVT OFFICIAL

Two Coast Guard crew from the cutter "Firebush" were "...apparently blown off a ridge by strong winds". A request for air support was made from the Alaska State Troopers just after midnight Saturday. An HH-60 attempted a night search, but had to turn back due to whiteout conditions. At first light, Sunday, the HH-60 conducted 3 sorties and located both crewmen.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Blizzard, Kodiak Peninsula	2001-12-08	21	Male	Outside/Open Areas	Direct

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

Every storm in Alaska in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5273341.