Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula
- When
- January 5, 9:23 PM AST to January 6, 4:00 PM AST
- Where
- Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard and Extreme Cold in Alaska, January 5 to 8, 2001
Extreme Wind Chills were reported at: Zone 3: Kivalina ASOS: -81F Zone 4: Makpik RAWS: -90F Zone 9: Gambell AWOS: -77; Tin City AWOS: -72Blizzard Conditions were reported at: Zone 3: Kivalina Zone 9: Gambell Zone 1: Wainwright, Barrow, Kuparuk, Deadhorse, NuiqsutHigh Winds were reported at: Zone 3: Point Hope AWOS: gust 74 mph. Zone 4: Indian Mountain AWOS: gust 52 mph.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 11
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.
With High pressure persisting over the Arctic Ocean and Russia Far East, a 956 mb Low in the North Pacific moved north to near Kodiak Island, bringing extreme Wind Chills to parts of northwest Alaska, followed by Blizzard conditions, and then High Winds.Extreme Wind Chills were reported at: Zone 3: Kivalina ASOS: -81F Zone 4: Makpik RAWS: -90F Zone 9: Gambell AWOS: -77; Tin City AWOS: -72Blizzard Conditions were reported at: Zone 3: Kivalina Zone 9: Gambell Zone 1: Wainwright, Barrow, Kuparuk, Deadhorse, NuiqsutHigh Winds were reported at: Zone 3: Point Hope AWOS: gust 74 mph. Zone 4: Indian Mountain AWOS: gust 52 mph. Zone 9: Tin City AWOS: gust 68 mph; Gambell AWOS: gust 61 mph. Zone 1: Barrow ASOS: gust 59 mph; Deadhorse ASOS: gust 51 mph; Wainwright ASOS: gust 52 mph; Nuiqsut ASOS gust 55 mph; Kuparuk: gust 52 mph; Cape Lisburne AWOS: gust 52 mph. Zone 7: Healy: gust 60 mph.
Event by event
5 high wind, 3 extreme cold/wind chill, 3 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula
- When
- January 6, 7:00 AM AST to 10:00 PM AST
- Where
- Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Koyukuk-Upper Kobuk Valleys
- When
- January 6, 3:00 PM AST to January 8, 3:00 AM AST
- Where
- Koyukuk-Upper Kobuk Valleys forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard, St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast
- When
- January 6, 3:00 PM AST to January 7, 6:00 AM AST
- Where
- St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
High Wind, St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast
- When
- January 7, 2:00 AM AST to 12:35 PM AST
- Where
- St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast forecast zone
- Measured
- 59 kt (68 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
High Wind, Koyukuk-Upper Kobuk Valleys
- When
- January 7, 5:00 AM AST to 12:00 PM AST
- Where
- Koyukuk-Upper Kobuk Valleys forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast
- When
- January 7, 8:00 AM AST to January 8, 12:15 AM AST
- Where
- St. Lawrence Island-Bering Strait Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
High Wind, Tanana Valley
- When
- January 7, 1:00 PM AST to 2:00 PM AST
- Where
- Tanana Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard, Arctic Slope Coastal
- When
- January 7, 2:00 PM AST to January 8, 5:00 PM AST
- Where
- Arctic Slope Coastal forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
High Wind, Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula
- When
- January 7, 3:35 PM AST to January 8, 1:35 AM AST
- Where
- Lower Kobuk Valley-Northern Seward Peninsula forecast zone
- Measured
- 64 kt (74 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
High Wind, Arctic Slope Coastal
- When
- January 7, 8:00 PM AST to January 8, 11:00 AM AST
- Where
- Arctic Slope Coastal forecast zone
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 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 Florida, January 5, 2001
- Frost and Freeze in Florida, January 5, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Michigan, January 5, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Ohio, January 5, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 5, 2001
- Heavy Snow in New Jersey, January 5, 2001
- Winter Weather in Maryland, January 5, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 5, 2001
- Winter Weather in Virginia, January 5, 2001
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, January 5 to 6, 2001
- Winter Weather in West Virginia, January 5, 2001
- Heavy Snow in Maine, January 5 to 6, 2001
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 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: 5228543, 5228546, 5228544, 5228547, 5228551, 5228550, 5228545, 5228553, 5228548, 5228549, 5228552.