Blizzard in Alaska, December 3, 2002

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, December 3, 2002
Start: 2002-12-03T04:35
End: 2002-12-03T08:15
Location: Alaska

December 3, 2002 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

With an existing moderate easterly pressure gradient across the northern Bering Sea, a weather disturbance moved north over the area bringing blizzard conditions to Gambell on St. Lawrence Island.

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 AFG wrote it up.

With an existing moderate easterly pressure gradient across the northern Bering Sea, a weather disturbance moved north over the area bringing blizzard conditions to Gambell on St. Lawrence Island.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 2, 7:23 PM AST, 9 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 2, 7:23 PM AST, 9 hours 12 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
230 PM AST MON DEC 2 2002

UPPER LEVEL RIDGE FROM SOUTHEAST ALASKA PANHANDLE TO SEWARD PENINSULA
AND LOW ALOFT NEAR DUTCH HARBOR ARE IN THE CONTROLLING FEATURES TODAY.

AT THE SURFACE....1033 MB HIGH NEAR WHITEHORSE WILL SLOWLY RECEDE.
994 MB LOW NEAR CAPE NEWENHAM WILL DRIFT WEST TO BE 275 MILES SOUTHWEST
OF SAINT MATTHEW ISLAND BY 3PM TUE. 992 MB LOW 550 MILES SOUTH OF
MIDDLETON ISLAND WILL BE NEAR BETHEL BY 3PM TUE AND IN THE VICINITY
OF THE BERING STRAIT BY 3PM WED. THE ASSOCIATED OCCLUDED FRONT WILL
LIMP THROUGH THE INTERIOR DURING THE DAY WEDNESDAY.

12Z MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON BASIC FEATURES.

MID RANGE MODELS HAVE ALL ABANDONDED ANY ATTEMPT TO BRING EVEN SLIGHTLY
COOLER AIR INTO EASTERN ZONES. NO CHANGE IN WHAT WILL SOON BE THE
LONGEST UNBROKEN SPELL OF EARLY WINTER WARM WEATHER IN THE PAST CENTURY.
MODELS ARE SPLIT AS TO WESTWARD DRIFT OF SURFACE HIGH..WHICH MIGHT ALLOW
FOR MORE SNOW FOR WESTERN ZONES. NO HOPE FOR SNOW IN TANANA OR UPPER
YUKON VALLEYS.

FOR THE NORTH SLOPE...WINDS SHOULD DIMINISH FARTHER TONIGHT ON THE
BEAUFORT SEA COAST. NEXT PROBLEM AREA WILL BE THE CHUKCHI SEA COAST
AS EASTERLY WINDS PICK UP TUESDAY AS RIDGE DRIFTS EASTWARD AND PRESSURES
FALL OVER NORTHWEST MAINLAND. ANY SNOW WOULD HOLD OFF UNTIL WEDNESDAY.

FOR THE WEST COAST...BLIZZARD WARNING FOR 213 CANCELLED DUE TO
APPARENT LACK OF SNOW. BETTER CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION TUE AND TUE
NIGHT WITH THE LOW PRESENTLY SOUTH OF KODIAK...BUT PRECIPITATION IS
LIKELY TO BE AT LEAST MIXED WITH RAIN...IF NOT MOSTLY RAIN. THIS
FEATURE WILL ALSO BRING WINDS BACK UP IN THE USUAL AREAS.

FOR THE INTERIOR...TEMPERATURES ON THE WAY UP AS SOUTHERLY FLOW INCREASES
AND CLOUDS THICKEN UP AGAIN. THERE AREAS TO BE VERY LITTLE POTENTIAL
FOR PRECIPITATION AS RIDGE ALOFT SUPPRESSES MID-LEVEL DYNAMICS. WINDS
IN THE USUAL AREAS WILL BE TO MINIMAL ADVISORY LEVELS.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
MARINE...GALE 9B. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY 9B AND 10B.
         SCA/BWA 14...9A..10A...10B...11A.
PUBLIC...NONE AT THIS TIME

RT DEC 02

Event by event

1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: December 3, 4:35 AM AST to 8:15 AM AST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait 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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, December 2002

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: 5322123.