High Wind, Western Aleutians
- When
- February 12, 12:00 PM AST to 1:00 PM AST
- Where
- Western Aleutians forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 12 to 14, 2002
A large and intense low south of Dutch Harbor deepened to 961 mbs Wednesday as it moved into Bristol Bay. weakening to a 971 mb center nearly on top of Bethel Thursday.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 6
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.
A large and intense low south of Dutch Harbor deepened to 961 mbs Wednesday as it moved into Bristol Bay. The low then moved into the southwest interior of Alaska Wednesday night...weakening to a 971 mb center nearly on top of Bethel Thursday. The low carried a strong front into the central north Pacific...which moved to Kodiak Island early Wednesday. The front then weakened and moved inland through the North Gulf Coast and Kenai Peninsula early Wednesday night. A frontal low, at 966 mbs, moved from 200 miles south of Kodiak early Wednesday into lower Cook Inlet early Thursday at 974 mbs. A secondary cold front extended southeast from this low.121 - Estimated that locally heavy snows did fall along the Homer Ridge. Anecdotal information.155 - From Wednesday morning, from about 5 am AST, to around 1 pm AST Wednesday, visibilities around Bethel were frequently at or below 1/4 mile in moderate snow and blowing snow. Visibilities were also at blizzard levels around Nunapitsinchak.171 - Kodiak Island. Snowfall likely met criteria. Only report was from the WSO, where 6.9" fell.181 - Blizzard conditions were reported only at Cold Bay along the Alaska Peninsula. Event maxima...121 - Close to 8" Homer Bluff155 - Blizzard conditions were reported around Bethel for 9 hours.171 - Estimated +8.0 inches around Kodiak Island (airport recorded 6.9").181 - Blizzard conditions and gusts of 41 mph at Cold Bay 5:53 pm AST Wednesday.191 - Gust of 60 mph at Atka at 12:15 pm AST Tuesday.195 - Visibilities at Saint Paul were frequently 1/4 mile or less from 2 pm Wednesday through 5 am Thursday. Peak winds there reached 58 mph several times between 8 pm Wednesday and 5 am Thursday.
Event by event
3 blizzard, 2 heavy snow, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Kodiak Peninsula
- When
- February 13, 1:00 AM AST to 6:00 AM AST
- Where
- Kodiak Peninsula forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Blizzard, Pribilof Islands
- When
- February 13, 1:41 AM AST to February 14, 4:53 AM AST
- Where
- Pribilof Islands forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Blizzard, Kuskokwim Delta
- When
- February 13, 5:00 AM AST to February 14, 9:00 PM AST
- Where
- Kuskokwim Delta forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Heavy Snow, Kenai Peninsula
- When
- February 13, 4:00 PM AST to 5:00 PM AST
- Where
- Kenai Peninsula forecast zone
- Reported by
- OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
Blizzard, Alaska Peninsula
- When
- February 13, 4:18 PM AST to 11:00 PM AST
- Where
- Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
- Heavy Snow
- Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
- 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
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 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: 5280106, 5280038, 5280105, 5280039, 5280037, 5280040.